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THE 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK 


^nrlitst  Irttlniinit  tn  iht  ^^rm\A  €m. 


BY 

W.    H.   CARPENTER 
T.    S.  ARTHUR. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
LIPPINCOTT,  GRAMBO   &   CO. 

18  5  4. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1853,  by 

T.  S.  ARTHUR  and  W.  H.  CARPENTER, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


F 
PUBLISHERS'  PREFACE. 


There  are  but  few  persons  in  this  country  wbo 
have  not,  at  some  time  or  other,  felt  the  want  of  an 
accurate,  well  written,  concise,  yet  clear  and  reliable 
history  of  their  own  or  some  other  state. 

The  want  here  indicated  is  now  about  being  sup- 
plied; and,  as  the  task  of  doing  so  is  no  light  or 
superficial  one,  the  publishers  have  given  into  the 
hands  of  the  two  gentlemen  whose  names  appear  in 
the  title-page,  the  work  of  preparing  a  series  of  Cabi- 
net Histories,  embracing  a  volume  for  each  state  in 
the  Union.  Of  their  ability  to  perform  this  well,  we 
need  not  speak.  They  are  no  strangers  in  the  literary 
world.  What  they  undertake  the  public  may  rest 
assured  will  be  performed  thoroughly  3  and  that  no 
sectarian,  sectional,  or  party  feelings  will  bias  their 
judgment,  or  lead  them  to  violate  the  integrity  of 
history. 

The  importance  of  a  series  of  state  histories  like 
those  now  commenced,  can  scarcely  be  estimated. 
Being  condensed  as  carefully  as  accuracy  and  interest 
of  narrative  will  permit,  the  size  and  price  of  the 
volumes  will  bring  them  within  the  reach  of  every 
family  in  the  country,  thus  making  them  home-read- 
ing books  for  old  and  young.  Each  individual  will, 
1*  5 


6  PUBLISHERS     PREFACE. 

in  consequence,  become  familiar,  not  only  with  the 
history  of  his  own  state,  but  with  that  of  other  states : 
— thus  mutual  interest  will  be  re-awakened,  and  old 
bonds  cemented  in  a  firmer  union. 

In  this  series  of  Cabinet  Histories,  the  authors, 
while  presenting  a  concise  but  accurate  narrative  of 
the  domestic  policy  of  each  state,  will  give  greater 
prominence  to  the  personal  history  of  the  people. 
The  dangers  which  continually  hovered  around  the 
early  colonists ;  the  stirring  romance  of  a  life  passed 
fearlessly  amid  peril;  the  incidents  of  border  war- 
fare; the  adventures  of  hardy  pioneers;  the  keen 
watchfulness,  the  subtle  surprise,  the  ruthless  attack, 
and  prompt  retaliation — all  these  having  had  an  im- 
portant influence  upon  the  formation  of  the  American 
character,  are  to  be  freely  recorded.  While  the  progres- 
sive development  of  the  citizens  of  each  individual  state 
from  the  rough  forest-life  of  the  earlier  day  to  the 
polished  condition  of  the  present,  will  exhibit  a  pic- 
ture of  national  expansion  as  instructing  as  it  is  inte- 
resting. 

The  size  and  style  of  the  series  will  be  uniform 
with  the  present  volume.  The  authors,  who  have 
been  for  some  time  collecting  and  arranging  materials, 
will  furnish  the  succeeding  volumes  as  rapidly  as  their 
careful  preparation  will  warrant. 


PREFACE. 


The  history  of  New  York,  the  wealthiest  and, 
from  its  happy  geographical  position,  the  most 
important  of  all  the  confederated  States,  has 
hitherto  been  but  imperfectly  known  even  to  its 
own  citizens.  This  defective  knowledge  cannot 
be  said  to  have  originated  from  any  want  of 
interest  on  the  subject,  but  rather  from  the 
diflSculty  of  obtaining  the  requisite  information 
within  a  moderate  compass,  and  in  a  connected 
form  ;  the  narrative  of  events  being  scattered 
through  numerous  volumes,  all  of  which  are  in 
their  nature  fragmentary. 

To  supply  this  want — to  place  before  the 
general  reader  a  clear,  succinct,  and  impartial 
history  of  the  State,  from  its  earliest  settlement 
to  the  present  day,  is  the  object  of  this  volume, 

7 


8  PREFACE. 

which  will  not  be  found  a  mere  compilation,  but  a 
work  originally  treated,  and  elaborated  with  care 
and  impartiality.  Brief  as  it  is,  it  yet  contains 
every  event  of  marked  historical  importance ; 
nothing  being  omitted  but  those  obtrusive  specu- 
lations, and  dry  legislative  details,  which,  in  a 
work  intended  for  popular  use,  are  neither  valu- 
able nor  interestincr. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Columbus — Voyages  of  the  Cabots — John  and  Sebastian 
Cabot  discover  the  Continent  of  North  America — Voyage 
of  Sebastian  Cabot — His  exploration  of  the  coast — New- 
foundland fisheries — Patent  from  James  I.  to  the  Virginia 
Companies — Settlement  of  Jamestown — Voyage  of  Verraz- 
zani,  under  the  auspices  of  James  I. — Sails  from  Madeira 
— Reaches  America — Lands  in  North  Carolina — Friendli- 
ness of  the  savages — Their  humanity — A  child  kidnapped 
— Arrival  of  Verrazzani  at  Sandy  Hook — His  description — 
Conference  with  the  natives — Bay  of  New  York — Ilarbour 
of  Newport — Description  of  the  natives — Exploration  inland 
— Departure  for  Europe — Claims  of  France — Cartier  and 
Roberval  —  First  permanent  French  settlement — Quebec 
founded  by  Champkiin— The  Five  Nations — Policy  of  Cham- 
plain — Joins  a  war-party  of  Hurons  and  Algonquins — Dis- 
covery of  Lake  Champlain — Defeat  of  the  Iroquois — The 
consequence Page     19 

CHAPTER  IL 

Voyage  of  Henry  Hudson — Attempts  to  reach  Nova  Zembla 
— Is  impeded  by  ice — Ranges  the  North  American  coast 
southwai'd — Reaches  Penobscot — Trades  with  the  natives — 
Attacks  an<l  plunders  them — Rounds  Cape  Cod — Is  blown 
off  the  Capes  of  Virginia — Returns  north— Discovers  Dela- 
ware Bay— Enters  Sandy  Hook — Death  of  Colman — Disco- 
vers the  Great  North  or  Hudson  River — Explores  it — The 
Palisades— West  Point— The  Catskills— Traffic  with  the 
natives — Their  hospitality — The  exploration  continued — 
Hudson  arrives  in  the  vicinity  of  Albany — Is  visited  by 
numbers  of  the  Indians — Singular  expedient  to  test  their 
friendliness — Scene  of  intoxication — The  Iroquois  tradition 
concerning  it — Return  of  Hudson— An  Indian  killed — Am- 
bush near  Harlem  River — Skirmish  with  the  Manhattans 
— Departure 29 

CHAPTER  IIL 
Hudson  returns  to  Europe — Reaches  Dartmouth — Communi- 
cates with  his  employers — Sails  on  a  new  voyage  of  disco- 
very— Enters  Hudson's  Bay^Reachcs  its  southern  limit — 
Seaxches  for  an  outlet — Is  frozen  in — Scarcity  of  his  provi- 

9 


10  CONTENTS. 


eions — Mutinous  condition  of  his  crew — He  sails  for  the 
mouth  of  the  bay — Mutiny — Abandonment  of  Hudson  and 
his  companions — Signal  retribution — The  Dutch  traffic  with 
the  Inclians — Captain  Argall  —  New  explorations  —  Blok 
coasts  Long  Island — Discovers  the  Housatonic  and  Con- 
necticut Rivers — Returns  with  Christiaanse  to  Manhattan 
— Fortified  posts  erected  at  Manhattan  and  Albany — May 
examines  the  Delaware  Bay  —  Alliance  with  the  Iro- 
quois  Page    43 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  English  Puritans  in  Holland — First  project  of  a  settle- 
ment— Agents  sent  to  England  to  treat  with  the  Virginia 
Company — Embarkation  at  Delfthaven — The  Mayflower — 
Accidents  to  the  Speedwell — Arrival  off  Cape  Cod — Ply. 
mouth  settled — Dutch  West  India  Company  incorporated — 
Forts  built  on  the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware— Arrival  of 
Governor  Minuits — The  first  colonists  of  NewNetherland — 
Increase  of  the  fur  trade — Commercial  relations  with  New 
Plymouth — Embassy  of  De  Razier — Dutch  scheme  of  colo- 
nization—  Provision  concerning  Patroons — Swanandael 
purchased — Pavonia — Rensselaerwyck — Colony  of  De  Vries 
near  Cape  Henlopen — Its  massacre  by  the  savages — Return 
of  De  Vries — The  colony  re-established — Removal  of  jNIi- 
nuits — Administration  of  A^'^outer  Van  Twiller — Trading- 
post  established  on  the  Connecticut — Emigration  to  New 
England — Settlements  on  the  Connecticut — Difficulties  with  ' 
the  Patroons — The  manors  of  Pavonia  and  Swanandael  re- 
vert to  the  company— Removal  of  Van  TwiUer — William 
Kieft  appointed  governor 52 

CHAPTER  V. 

Difficulties  of  Governor  Kieft  —  Delaware  settled  by  the 
Swedes — Arrival  of  Minuits — Fort  built  on  Christiana  Creek 
— Action  of  Dutch  West  India  Company — Occupation  of 
Long  Island  by  the  Puritans — Fort  Nassau  reoccupied — 
Indian  disturbances — A  retaliatory  murder — Kieft  demands 
the  fugitive — Preparations  for  war — Failure  of  the  first  ex- 
pedition against  the  Raritans — Trouble  with  the  Hacken- 
sacks — Two  Hollanders  murdered — Indemnity  offered  and 
refused — Massacre  of  the  Raritans  nnd  Hackensaeks — Con- 
federation of  the  river  tribes — Indian  war — Deplorable  con- 
dition of  the  Dutch — Long  Island  and  Manhattan  devastated 
— Unpopularity  of  Kieft — Attempt  upon  his  life — Negotia- 
tions for  peace — Speech  of  an  Indian  chief — Renewal  of 
the  war — Expeditions  of  Underbill — Destruction  of  Indians 
at  Tappan  and  on  Long  Island — Interposition  of  the  Mo- 
hawks— Treaty  of  peace 67 


CONTENTS.  11 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Close  of  the  Indian  war — Unpopularity  of  Kieft — His  recall 
and  shipwrecli — (lovernor  Stuyvesant — Condition  of  New 
Netherland — Boaverswyck— New  Amsterdam— Negotiations 
with  New  England — Provisional  treaty — War  between  Eng- 
land and  Holland — Prudent  policy  of  Massachusetts — The 
Dutch  solicit  assistance  from  the  Narragansetts — Reply  of 
one  of  their  chiefs — Swedish  settlements  on  the  Delaware — 
FortCassimer  erected — Contentions  with  the  Swedes— Cap- 
ture of  Fort  Cassimer — Reduction  of  the  Swedish  province 
by  Stuyvesant — Flourishing  condition  of  New  Netherland — 
Internal  dissensions — Arbitrary  rule  of  Stuyvesant — Claims 
of  Maryland — Sale  of  Delaware  to  the  city  of  Amsterdam — 
Political  privileges  granted  by  Stuyvesant — Patent  of 
Charles  II.  to  the  Duke  of  York — English  force  sent  to 
take  possession  of  New  Netherland — Surrender  of  the 
province Page     78 

CHAPTER  VII. 

New  Netherland  becomes  New  York — Colonel  Nichols  go- 
vernor— Meeting  on  Long  Island — Incorporation  of  the 
city  of  New  York — Arbitrary  system  of  government  esta- 
blished—  Lovelace  appointed  governor — War  with  the 
Dutch — New  York  reconquered — Administration  of  Colve 
— Retrocession  of  New  York — Government  of  Andros — Dif- 
ficulties with  Connecticut — Spirited  conduct  of  the  Puritans 
— Disaffection  of  the  people — A  representative  government 
demanded — Reply  of  the  Duke  of  York — Description  of  the 
province — Its  prosperity — City  of  New  York,  its  population 
and  public  buildings — Character  of  the  people — Andros  re- 
called— Dongan  appointed  governor — Concession  of  political 
privileges — Indian  affairs — Convention  at  Albany — Designs 
of  the  French — Instructions  of  the  Duke  of  Yo^k — Conduct 
of  Dongan — Invasion  of  the  Five  Nations  by  tlie  French — 
Peace  solicited — Speech  of  De  la  Barre — Reply  of  Gan-an- 
gula 90 

CHAPTER  VIIL 

Canadian  affairs — Denonville  supersedes  De  la  Barre — Pre- 
pares for  war — Marches  against  the  Iroquois — Is  attacked 
— Retires  into  Canada — Fate  of  the  French  garrison  at  Nia- 
gara— Retaliation  of  the  Iroquois — Negotiations  for  peace 
— Reply  of  Governor  Dongan — Speech  of  Garrangula — 
Council  at  Montreal — Stratagem  of  the  Dinondadie  Indians 
— Renewal  of  hostilities — Dreadful  massacre  of  the  French 

'  — Affairs  of  New  York — Disaffection  in  England — Landing 
of  William,  Prince  of  Orange — Flight  of  James — Revolu- 
tion in  the  provinces — Dongan  recalled — Agitation  in  New 


12  CONTEXTS. 


York — The  fort  seized  by  Leisler — "William  and  Mary  pro- 
claimed— Leisler  governor — Count  Frontenac  appointed 
governor  of  Canada — Negotiates  with  the  Five  Nations — 
War  between  England  and  France — Burning  of  Schenec- 
tady— Difficulties  in  New  York Paye  105 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Invasion  of  Canada  resolve^^pon — Failure  of  the  expedition 
— Arrival  of  Ingoldsby  at  New  York — The  fort  blockaded 
— Arrival  of  Governor  Sloughter — Arrest  of  Leisler  and  his 
council — Leisler  and  Milbourne  tried  and  sentenced  to 
death — Their  execution — Appeal  to  the  king  by  the  son  of 
Leisler — Report  of  the  commissioners — Appeal  to  parlia- 
ment— Reversal  of  the  sentence  against  Leisler  and  Mil- 
bourne — Death  of  Sloughter — Fletcher  appointed  governor 
— His  character — Frontenac  invades  the  country  of  the 
Five  Nations — His  march  from  Montreal — Falls  upon  the 
Mohawk  villages — Returns  to  Canada — Activity  of  Schuy- 
ler— Of  Fletcher — His  popularity  with  the  Indians — Con- 
vention at  Albany — Conduct  of  Fletcher  toward  the  pro- 
Tineial  assembly  —  Resistance  of  the  latter — Activity  of 
Frontenac — Invades  the  Onondagas — Torture  of  an  aged 
chief — Meagre  results  of  the  expedition 118 

CHAPTER  X. 

Arrival  of  Bellamont — Ordered  to  suppress  piracy  on  the  coast 
— Fletcher  discountenanced— Exultation  of  the  popular  party 
— Captain  Kidd  commissioned  to  apprehend  the  pirates — 
Turns  pirate  himself — Appears  in  Boston — Is  arrested  and 
sent  to  England  for  trial — Commotion  in  England— Address 
of  Bellamont  to  the  assembly — His  popularity — Engages  in 
a  controversy  with  Frontenac — French  treaty  with  the  In- 
dians— Law  passed  by  the  assembly  against  Roman  Catho- 
lic priests — Death  of  Bellamont — Nanfan  lieutenant-go- 
vernor —  Appointment  of  Cornbury  —  His  character  — 
Attaches  himself  to  the  Royalists — Is  granted  a  donation — 
Second  intercolonial  war — Money  appropriated  for  fortifj'- 
ing  the  Narrows — Embezzled  by  Cornbury — Difficulties 
with  the  assembly — Distrust  of  Cornbury — His  profligate 
career — Petitions  for  his  recall — Arrival  of  Lord  Lovelace 
— Cornbury  arrested  for  debt — His  return  to  England 130 

CHAPTER  XL 
Lovelace  demands  of  the  assembly  a  permanent  revenue — An 
annual  grant  substituted — Death  of  Lovelace — Administra- 
tion of  Ingoldsby — Abortive  attempt  to  invade  Canada — 
Discontent  of  New  York — -Address  to  Queen  Anne — Colonel 
Schuyler  repairs  to  England,  accompanied  by  five  Mohawk 
chiefs — Reception  of  the  latter  in  London — Their  interview 


CONTENTS.  13 


with  the  Queen — Governor  Hunter  arrives  at  New  York — 
The  assembly  refractory — Expedition  against  Canada — Its 
shameful  failure — Activity  of  De  Vaudreuil — The  provin- 
cial troops  disbanded — Indignation  of  England  and  the  co- 
lonies— Charges  brought  against  St.  John  and  Harcourt^- 
Controversy  between  Hunter  and  the  assembly  in  relation 
to  a  permanent  revenue — The  point  carried  by  the  governor 
— Gloomy  condition  of  the  province — Negro  insurrection — 
Peace  of  Utrecht — Permanent  revenue  granted — Hunter's 
popularity — His  return  to  England Page  140 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Arrival  of  Governor  Burnet — His  character — Old  assembly 
continued — SaIo\)f  Indian  goods  to  the  French  prohibited 
— Mercantile  opposition — Petition  to  the  king — Reply  of 
Golden  and  Alexander — Activity  of  the  French — Indian 
policy  of  Burnet — Fort  Oswego  built — Administrative  diflB- 
culties — Alienation  of  Schuyler,  Philips,  and  Delancey — New 
assembly  demanded  by  the  people — Removal  of  Burnet  to 
the  government  of  Massachusetts — Montgomery  appointed 
governor — Harmonizes  with  the  assembly — Meets  the  In- 
dians in  convention  at  Albanj' — Fort  Oswego  threatened — 
Burnet's  Indian  policy  repudiated — Boundary  fixed  between 
New  York  and  Connecticut — Seizure  of  Crown  Point  by  the 
French — Cosby  succeeds  Montgomery — Ingratiates  himself 
with  the  assembly — A  free  school  established — Violent  and 
arbitrary  conduct  of  Cosb}' — Political  quarrels — Imprison- 
ment of  Zonger,  printer  of  the  Weekly  Journal — His  trial — 
Defended  by  Hamilton,  of  Philadelphia — Liberty  of  the 
press  vindicated — Illegal  career  of  Cosby — His  sudden 
death — Bitter  party  feuds — Clarke  appointed  lieutenant- 
governor 155 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Character  of  Lieutenant-governor  Clarke — His  policy — Con- 
duct of  the  provincial  party — Their  reply  to  his  opening 
address — Extraordinary  issue  of  paper  money — Disfran- 
chisement of  the  Jews — Snare  laid  for  the  popular  leaders 
— Its  success — Permanent  revenue  refused — Negro  plot  in 
New  York — Terror  of  the  citizens — Evidence  of  Mary  Bur- 
ton— The  conspiracy  doubted — Judicial  murder  of  Ury — 
Arrival  of  Governor  Clinton — His  quarrel  with  Chief  Jus- 
tice Delancey — Difficulties  with  the  assembly — ^Yar  between 
England  and  France — Activity  of  the  French — Capture  of 
Louisburg — Settlements  around  Saratoga  ravaged — Inva- 
sion of  Canada  projected — Assembling  of  the  provincial 
levies — Boston  menaced  by  a  French  fleet — Subsidence  of 
the  alarm — Political  feuds  in  New  York — The  village  of 

Saratoga  burned — Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle 167 

2 


14  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Trenty  with  the  Six  Nations — Shirley's  conspiracy — Action 
of  Clinton — His  violent  disputes  with  the  assembly — De- 
mands a  permanent  revenue — Their  able  reply — Clinton 
appeals  to  the  English  government — Movements  of  Shirley 
and  Belcher — Walpole's  bill  to  strengthen  the  king's  pre- 
rogative— Colonial  protests — Its  defeat  in  parliament — 
Cautious  policy  of  New  York — Dismissal  of  Colden — Clin- 
ton's letters  to  the  Board  of  Trade — Taxation  by  parliament 
suggested — Encroachments  of  the  French — Exploration  of 
the  Ohio  valley — Attempt  to  restrict  the  limits  of  Acadia — 
Patent  of  the  Ohio  company — Trading  house  built  at 
Brownsville — Indian  council  at  Albany — Duquesne  de- 
scends into  the  valley  of  the  Ohio — Alarm  of  the  western 
Indians — Instructions  from  England — Sir  Danvers  Osborne 
appointed  governor  of  New  York — His  character,  conduct, 
and  death Pag^  178 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Lieutenant-Governor  Delancey — Royal  instructions — Course 
of  the  assembly — George  AVashington — Movements  of  the 
French — First  skirmish — Death  of  Jumonville — Surrender 
of  Fort  Necessity — Congress  at  Albany — Franklin's  plan  of 
union — Rejected  by  the  colonies — Disaffection  in  New  York 
— Establishment  of  a  college — Liberal  grants  by  the  assem- 
bly for  the  defence  of  the  frontiers — General  Braddock  ap- 
pointed commander-in-chief — Congress  of  governors  at 
Alexandria — Plan  of  campaign — Success  in  Nova  Scotia — 
Rout  of  Braddock's  army — His  death — Crown  Point  expe- 
dition— Fort  Edward  buQt — Approach  of  Dieskau — Skir- 
mish with  the  provincials — Battle  of  Lake  George — Rout  of 
the  French — Capture  of  Dieskau — Honours  awarded  to 
.Johnson  by  parliament — Neglect  of  Lyman — Inactivity  of 
Johnson — Fort  William  Henry  built — Niagara  expedition 
— Reverses  and  disappointments  of  Shirley— Sickness  of 
troops — Fort  Oswego  built T90 

CHAPTER  XVL 

Sir  Charles  Hardy  appointed  governor  of  New  York — His 
popularity — Congress  of  governors  —  Expeditions  agreed 
upon  against  Crown  Point,  Forts  Niagara  and  Duquesne — 
Surprise  of  Ticonderoga  proposed  by  Shirley — Rejected  by 
New  York — Action  of  the  assembly — Taxation  for  revenue 
resorted  to — War  formally  declared  against  France — Ob- 
noxious acts  passed  in  England — Arrival  of  Abercrombie — 
Assembling  of  the  troops — Arrival  of  Loudoun — Activity  of 
Montcalm — Oswego  attacked — Death  of  Mercer — Capitu- 
lation of  Forts  Ontario  and  Oswego — Loudoun  abandons 


CONTENTS.  15 


offensive  operations  —  Quarrels  with  the  citizens  of  New 
York — Campaign  of  1767 — Futile  expedition  to  Louisburg 
— Siege  of  Fort  William  Henry — Spirited  defence  of  Mon- 
roe— Surrender  of  the  garrison — Indian  outrag(?s — -Conduct 
of  Webli  —  Of  Loudoun  —  Campaign  of  1758 — Energetic 
course  of  Pitt — Louisburg  captured — Abcrcrombie  repulsed 
before  Ticonderoga — Fort  Frontenac  surprised  and  captured 
by  Bradstreet — Forbes  marches  against  Fort  Duquesne — 
Its  abandonment  by  the  French Page  204 

CHAPTER  XVIL 

Campaign  of  1759 — Plan  of  conquest — Prideaux  marches 
against  Fort  Niagara — Invests  it — Is  killed — Attempts  of 
the  French  to  raise  the  siege — Their  defeat — Capitulation 
of  the  garrison — March  of  Amherst — Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point  deserted — AYolfe  sails  for  Quebec — Takes  pos- 
session of  the  Isle  of  Orleans — Quebec — Its  situation  and 
defences  —  Defended  by  Montcalm  —  His  encamjiment — 
Attempt  to  fire  the  British  fleet  frustrated — Occupation  of 
Point  Levi — Wolfe  encamps  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mont- 
morenci — Battle  of  Montmorenci — The  Enjclish  repulsed — 
Murray  ordered  up  the  St.  Lawrence — The  Heights  of  Abra- 
ham— Plan  of  attack — Daring  movement  of  Wolfe — Its  suc- 
cess— Incredulity  of  Montcalm— Preparations  for  battle — 
The  English  victorious — Death  of  Wolfe — Montcalm  mor- 
tally wounded — Capitulation  of  Quebec — De  Levi  attempts 
to  recapture  it — Capture  of  Montreal — Final  conquest  of 
Canada 221 

CHAPTER  XVIIL 
Retention  of  Canada  determined  upon — Spain  joins  France 
against  England — Treaty  of  Fontainebleau — Death  of  De- 
lancey — Administration  of  Colden — Monckton  appointed 
governor — Ordered  to  Martinique — Independence  of  the 
Judiciary  struck  at — Alarm  of  New  York — Difficulties  be- 
tween New  York  and  New  Hampshire — Financial  embar- 
rassment of  England — Action  of  the  ministry — Stamp-tax 
passed — Its  reception  in  New  York — Colden  burned  in 
effigy — Stamp-tax  repealed — Townsend's  scheme  of  taxa- 
tion— Action  of  the  colonies — Pusillanimous  conduct  of  the 
New  York  Assembly — Alexander  McDougal  —His  imprison- 
ment and  popularity — Rapid  increase  of  New  York  in  popu- 
lation and  wealth — Dunmore  appointed  governor — Removed 
to  Virginia — Transfers  the  government  to  Tryon — Regula- 
tors in  North  Carolina — Their  defeat — Disturbances  respect- 
ing the  New  Hampshire  grants — Resistance  to  state  authority 
— Tea  sent  to  America — Proceedings  of  the  colonies — Con- 
gress at  Philadelphia — Battle  of  Lexington 237 


16  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Effect  of  the  battle  of  Lexington — Doubtful  position  of  New 
York — Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  seized — Descent  of 
Arnold  upon  St.  John's — War  formally  declared — Acts  of 
the  Provincial  Congress — Opposition  of  the  loyalists — 
Washington  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the  American 
forces — Other  appointments — Battle  of  Bunker  Hill — Con- 
gress determines  upon  an  effectual  blockade  of  Boston — ■ 
Washington  assumes  the  chief  command — Return  of  Go- 
vernor Tryon  to  New  York — State  of  political  parties — 
Seizure  of  military  stores  at  Turtle  Bay — Removal  of  guns 
from  the  Battery  at  New  York — Unpopularity  of  Tryon — ' 
He  takes  refuge  on  board  the  Asia  man-of-war — Invasion 
of  Canada — Surrender  of  Forts  Chambly  and  St.  John — 
Capitulation  of  Montreal- — Montgomery  forms  a  junction 
with  Arnold — Assault  of  Quebec — Death  of  Montgomery — 
Evacu.ation  of  Canada — Disturbances  in  New  York — Riving- 
ton's  Gazette — Lee  ordered  to  assist  in  defending  the  city — 
Disaffection  of  the  Johnsons — Joseph  Brant — Declaration 
of  Independence Pa<je  252 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Evacuation  of  Boston — Washington  at  New  York — His  em- 
barrassments— Discovery  of  a  plot  to  seize  his  person — 
Approach  of  General  Howe — The  British  encamp  on  Staten 
Island — Arrival  of  Admiral  Lord  Howe  with  reinforcements 
— American  defences  at  Brooklyn— Landing  of  the  British 
on  Long  Island — Battle  of  Long  Island,  and  defeat  of  Put- 
nam— Washington  encamps  at  Harlem — Howe  takes  pos- 
session of  Yorli  Island — Disgraceful  flight  of  the  American 
militia — New  York  evacu.ated — Skii-mish  at  Harlem — Seri- 
ous conflagration  in  the  city — Military  and  naval  operations 
of  the  British — The  Americans  encamp  at  White  Plains — 
Defeat  of  McDougal — Capture  of  Fort  Washington — Aban- 
donment of  Fort  Lee— Retreat  of  Washington  through  the 
Jerseys — Crosses  the  Delaware  at  Trenton — Situation  of 
the  northern  army — Crown  Point  evacuated — Advance  of 
Carleton — Battle  on  Lake  Champlain 262 

CHAPTER  XXL 
New  York  Congress — State  government  established — Cam- 
paign of  1777 — Howe's  movements — Battle  of  Brandj-wine 
— Of  Germantown — Burgoyne's  invasion — His  successful 
advance — Takes  possession  of  Ticonderoga — Retreat  of  St. 
Clair — Evacuation  of  Skenesborough  —  Of  Fort  Anne- 
Weakness  of  the  northern  army  under  Schuyler — Fort  Ed- 
ward abandoned — Schuyler  crosses  the  Hudson — Advance 
of  Burgoyne — Fort  Schuyler  besieged  by  St.  Leger — Bloody 


CONTENTS.  17 


skirmish  with  Herkimer — Death  of  Herkimer — Arnold  ad- 
vances to  the  relief  of  Fort  Schuyler — Success  of  his  strata- 
gem— St.  Leger  deserted  by  the  Indians — Breaks  up  the 
eiege — Battle  of  Bennington — Defeat  of  Baum  and  Brey- 
man — Schuyler  superseded  by  Gates — Condition  of  Bur- 
goyne — Crosses  the  Hudson — First  battle  of  Behmus's 
Heights — Second  battle  of  Behmus's  Heights — Retreat  of 
Burgoyne  to  Saratoga — Provisions  captured  on  the  Hudson 
— British  council  of  war — Surrender  of  Burgoyne Page  276 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
Clinton's  diversion  in  favour  of  Burgoyne — First  meeting  of 
the  State  legislature  at  Kingston — France  and  the  United 
States — Effects  of  Burgoyne's  surrender — Conciliatory  pro- 
positions from  Lord  North — Treaty  of  alliance  between 
France  and  the  United  Colonies — Howe  abandons  Phila- 
delphia, and  retreats  to  New  York — Arrival  of  a  French 
fleet — D'Estaing  offers  to  co-operate  in  the  reduction  of 
Newport — Puts  out  to  sea — Americans  retire  from  before 
Newport^ — War  on  the  frontiers — Massacre  at  Wyoming — 
American  expedition  against  Unadilla — Indian  incursion 
into  Cherry  Valley — Campaign  of  1779 — Predatory  incur- 
sions by  the  enemy — Capture  of  Stony  Point  by  the  British 
— Recapture  by  Wayne — Sullivan's  expedition  against  the 
Indians — Exploration  and  destruction  of  the  Indian  villages 
in  the  Genesee  Valley — Campaign  of  1781 — South  Carolina 
overrun  bj'  the  enemy — Defeat  of  Gates — Arrival  of  Koeham- 
beau  at  Rhode  Island — Treason  of  Benedict  Arnold — Exe- 
cution of  Andre — Virginia  ravaged  by  Arnold  and  Phillips 
— Operations  of  Cornwallis — Battle  of  the  Cowpens— Battle 
of  Guilford  Courthouse — Greene  recrosses  the  Dan — Corn- 
wallis enters  Virginia — Takes  post  at  Yorktown — Siege  of 
Yorktown — Capitulation 289 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
A  national  convention  called — Influence  of  New  York — 
Action  of  the  state  in  regard  to  the  import  duties — Meeting 
of  the  national  convention — Adoption  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution— Action  of  the  Anti-Federalist  party  in  New  York 
— Popularity  of  Clinton— Fierce  party  feuds — Jay  elected 
governor — Reception  of  his  treaty  with  Great  Britain — 
Hamilton  insulted — Re-election  of  Jay — Foreign  relations 
of  the  United  States — Alien  and  Sedition  laws — Clinton 
elected  governor — -Aaron  Burr — His  quarrel  with  Hamilton 
— Death  of  Hamilton — Proscription  of  Burr — His  western 
journeys — His  arrest,  trial,  and  acquittal — Subsequent  life 
— Increasing  foreign  difficulties — British  orders  in  council 
— Berlin  and  Milan  decrees — American  Embargo  Act — Col- 
2* 


18  CONTENTS. 


lision  between  the  frigate  President  and  British  sloop-of- 
war  Little  Belt — AVar  declared — 111  success  of  the  American 
forces  at  the  north — Important  naval  victories — Americans 
defeated  at  the  River  Raisin — Capture  of  York,  Upper  Ca- 
nada— Forts  George  and  Edward  abandoned  by  the  British 
— Defeat  of  Boerstler — Victory  at  Sackett's  Harbour — Per- 
ry's victory  on  Lake  Erie — Naval  successes  and  disasters — • 
Battle  of  the  Thames — Defeat  of  the  Creeks  by  Jackson — 
Battles  of  Chippewa  and  Bridgewater — Capture  of  the  Capi- 
tol— Death  of  Ross — Battle  of  Plattsburg — McDonough's 
victory  on  Lake  Champlain  —  Battle  of  New  Orleans  — 
Peace  declared Page  305 

CHAPTER  XXrV. 

Political  aspirations  of  De  Witt  Clinton — The  Tammany 
Society — Its  origin — Opposed  to  Clinton — Tompkins  elected 
governor — Chosen  vice-president — Clinton  governor — Con- 
struction of  the  Erie  Canal  authorized — Decline  of  the  old 
Federal  party — Origin  of  the  "BucktaOs" — Clinton  re-elect- 
ed governor — Van  Buren  chosen  United  States  Senator — 
Revision  of  the  state  constitution — Principal  amendments 
adopted — Yates  elected  governor — Division  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party— Organization  of  the  "People's  party" — Remo- 
val of  Clinton  as  canal  commissioner — Re-elected  governor 
— Subversion  of  the  old  political  parties — Abduction  of  Mor- 
gan— Masons  and  Anti-Masons — New  organizations — For- 
mation of  the  Whig  and  Jackson  parties — Death  of  Governor 
Clinton^Van  Buren  elected  governor— Rise  and  decline  of 
the  "  Workingman's  party" — Throop  elected  governor — • 
Marcy  chosen—"  Equal  rights"  party  organized — How  de- 
signated by  the  AVhigs — Merged  into  the  Democratic  party 
— Marcy  re-elected  governor — Financial  embarrassments — 
Increasing  strength  of  the  Whigs — Seward  elected  governor 
— Party  fluctuations — Bouck  elected  governor — Election  of 
AVright — Anti-Rent  disturbances — Their  origin— Progress 
of  the  disaffection — Tumults  in  Delaware  county — Murder 
of  the  sheriff — Military  called  out — Arrest  and  imprison- 
ment of  the  rioters — Breach  in  the  Democratic  partj' — 
"Hunkers"  and  "Barnburners" — Revision  of  the  constitu- 
tion— Young  elected  governor — Election  of  Fish — Conclusion  323 


HISTORY  OF  m^Y  YORK. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Columbus — Voyages  of  the  Cabots — John  and  Sebastian  Cabot 
discover  the  Continent  of  North  America — Voyage  of  Sebas- 
tian Cabot — His  exploration  of  the  coast — Newfoundland 
fisheries — Patent  from  James  I.  to  the  Virginia  Companies 
— Settlement  of  Jamestown — Voyage  of  Verrazzani,  under 
the  auspices  of  James  I. — Sails  from  Madeira — Reaches  Ame- 
rica— Lands  in  North  Carolina — Friendliness  of  the  savages 
— Their  humanity — A  child  kidnapped — Arrival  of  Verraz- 
zani  at  Sandy  Hook — His  description — Conference  with  the 
natives — Bay  of  New  York — Harbour  of  Newport — Descrip- 
tion of  the  natives — Exploration  inland — Departure  for 
Europe — Claims  of  France — Cartier  and  Roberval — First 
permanent  French  settlement — Quebec  founded  by  Cham- 
plain — The  Five  Nations — Policy  of  Champlain — Joins  a 
•war-party  of  Hurons  and  Algomjuins — Discovery  of  Lake 
Champlain — Defeat  of  the  Iroquois — The  consequence. 

Five  years  after  the  discovery  of  the  Bahamas 
by  Christopher  Colunibus,  John  Cabot,  a  native 
of  Venice,  and  an  expert  navigator,  then  residing 
at  Bristol,  in  England,  was  authorized,  by  letters 
patent  from  Henry  the  Seventh,  to  take  five 
English  ships,  in  any  haven  or  havens  of  the 
realm,  to  explore  the  seas  east,  west,  or  north,  in 
search  of  any  countries  hitherto  unknown  to 
Christians,  and  to  plant  the  English  banner  on 
any  part  of  the  land  thus  newly  found. 

19 


20  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1498. 

Under  this  license,  John  Cabot,  accompanied 
by  his  son  Sebastian,  subsequently  celebrated  as 
a  daring  mariner,  left  Bristol  in  the  early  part 
of  May,  1497,  and  on  the  24th  of  June,  first  came 
in  sight  of  the  continent  of  North  America. 

On  reaching  the  coast,  which  is  supposed  to 
have  been  that  of  Labrador,  they  found  it  rocky 
and  sterile,  abounding  with  the  white  polar  bear, 
and  with  deer  far  larger  than  any  they  had  ever 
seen  before.  After  satisfying  themselves  that 
this  cheerless  region  was  inhabited  only  by 
savages  clothed  in  the  skins  of  beasts,  and  armed 
with  the  primitive  weapons  of  bows  and  clubs,  the 
Cabots  returned  to  England  with  the  tidings  of 
their  success. 

The  following  year  a  second  expedition  was 
fitted  out,  the  command  of  which  was  given  to 
Sebastian  Cabot.  Being  furnished  with  several 
small  vessels,  freighted  with  such  articles  of  mer- 
chandise as  were  thought  best  suited  for  purposes 
of  traffic  with  an  uncivilized  people,  he  again  em- 
barked for  the  newly-discovered  land,  and  after 
a  voyage  of  several  weeks,  approached  the  conti- 
nent in  the  latitude  of  fifty-eight  degrees. 

Proceeding  north,  he  penetrated  that  portion 
of  the  arctic  region  since  known  as  Hudson's  Bay ; 
when,  finding  his  further  progress  seriously  ob- 
structed by  masses  of  floating  ice,  he  yielded  to 
the  loudly-expressed  fears  of  his  men,  and  shaping 
his  course  southward,  sailed  along  the  shore  until 


1606.]  EARLY   COLONIZATION.  21 

he  reached  the  southern  limit  of  Maryland.  Af- 
ter having  thus  ranged  the  coast  through  thirty 
degrees  of  latitude,  his  provisions  growing  short, 
he  sailed  for  England.  It  was  from  these  two 
voyages  of  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot,  that  Great 
Britain  acquired  the  title  to  nearly  the  whole 
continent  of  North  America. 

For  upward  of  a  century,  however,  no  ad- 
vantage was  derived  from  the  discoveries  thus 
made,  beyond  the  establishment  of  fisheries  off 
the  coast  of  Newfoundland.  The  first  successful 
attempt  at  colonization  was  made  in  1606,  when 
James  the  First,  disregarding  all  previous  pa- 
tents, granted  to  two  rival  associations  of  adven- 
turers, embodied  under  the  respective  titles  of 
the  London  and  Plymouth  Companies,  permission 
to  settle  plantations  on  any  part  of  the  North 
American  continent  lying  between  the  thirty- 
fourth  and  forty-fifth  degree  of  north  latitude. 

The  settlement  of  the  London,  or  South  Vir- 
ginia colony,  was  to  be  made  at  any  point  be- 
tween Cape  Fear  and  Long  Island,  while  that  of 
the  Plymouth,  or  North  Virginia  colony,  was 
restricted  to  the  region  embraced  between  Dela- 
ware Bay  and  Halifax. 

The  following  year,  three  small  vessels,  bearing 
one  hundred  and  five  colonists,  sent  out  to  Vir- 
ginia by  the  London  Company,  entered  the 
Chesapeake  Bay,  and  after  exploring  the  James 
lliver,    selected    a    small   peninsula,    thirty-two 


22  HISTORY    OF    NEW    YORK.  [1524. 

miles  from  its  mouth,  where,  on  the  13th  of  May, 
1607,  they  laid  the  foundation  of  Jamestown. 
No  settlement  was  made  by  the  Plymouth  Com- 
pany until  thirteen  years  afterward. 

Profiting  by  the  discoveries  of  Cabot,  French 
mariners,  from  the  ports  of  Brittany  and  Nor- 
mandy, sailed  early  to  the  coast  of  Newfoundland, 
where  they  shared  with  the  English  in  the  lucra- 
tive fisheries  of  that  region. 

Desirous  of  opening  a  wider  field  of  commerce 
for  his  subjects,  and,  perhaps,  emulous  of  the 
renown  acquired  through  their  discoveries  by 
England  and  Spain,  Francis  the  First  ordered 
John  Verrazzani,  a  Florentine  mariner,  to  take 
command  of  four  vessels,  and  explore  the  region 
concerning  which  so  many  marvellous  stories 
were  circulating  throughout  Eui'ope. 

Three  of  his  vessels,  having  become  separated 
in  a  storm,  Verrazzani  sailed  from  the  island  of 
Madeira  on  the  17th  of  June,  1524,  with  one 
small  caravel,  containing  fifty  men  and  provisions 
for  eight  months.  After  weathering  with  great 
difficulty  a  fierce  tempest,  he  succeeded,  at  the 
end  of  fifty  days,  in  approaching  a  low  sandy 
shore,  which,  from  the  numerous  fii'es  scattered 
along  the  coast,  he  concluded  to  be  thickly  in- 
habited. Running  southAvard  fifty  leagues  without 
finding  a  harbour,  he  turned  again  toward  the 
north,  and  anchored  in  latitude  34°,  off  the  coast 
of  North  Carolina.     A  large  concom'se  of  the 


1524.]      VERRAZZANl'S  VOYAGE.  23 

natives  immetliatelj  collected  on  the  beach,  and, 
encouraged  by  their  evident  friendliness,  Verraz- 
zani  ventured  to  land  for  a  short  time  and  take 
a  closer  survey  of  the  country.  Re-embarking, 
he  continued  his  course  to  the  north,  everywhere 
greeted  with  signals  of  welcome  by  groups  of 
savages  gathered  admiringly  on  the  shore.  Nor 
were  they  less  humane  than  hospitable.  One  of 
the  sailors,  in  an  attempt  to  swim  to  them  with  a 
few  presents,  being  thrown  by  a  heavy  sea  half 
dead  upon  the  beach,  was  caught  up  in  the  ai'ms 
of  the  savages,  and  boime  to  a  place  of  saiety. 
Soothing  his  fears  by  geiftle  caresses,  they  kin- 
dled a  fire  to  facilitate  his  recovery,  and  after 
drying  his  clothes,  led  him  Avith  many  an  affec- 
tionate embrace  back  to  the  beach.  They  then 
retired  to  an  eminence,  from  whence  they  kept  an 
anxious  watch  until  they  saw  him  return  in  safety 
to  the  ship. 

Proceeding  north  fifty  leagues,  Verrazzani 
anchored  off  the  seaboard  of  Maryland,  and  sent 
twenty  men  on  shore  to  explore  the  country. 
They  penetrated  inland  some  six  miles,  but  the 
natives  had  fled  affrighted  deeper  into  the  forest. 
Hidden  in  the  long  grass  they  found  two  women 
and  six  children.  They  seized  one  of  the  latter 
to  take  with  them  to  France,  and  attempted  also 
to  bear  off  the  younger  of  the  women,  who  was  tall 
of  stature  and  very  beautiful ;  but  fearing  her  out- 
cries would  endanger  their  safety,  they  released 


24  '    HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1524- 

her,  and  kidnapped  the  cliild  only.  After  this 
outrage,  so  strikingly  in  contrast  with  the  guile- 
less tenderness  exhibited  by  those  who  were  called 
barbarians,  Verrazzarii  kept  coasting  northward 
until  he  arrived  at  Sandy  Hook,  "  a  very  pleasant 
place,  situate  among  certain  little  steep  hills, 
from  amidst  which  there  ran  down  into  the  sea 
an  exceeding  great  stream  of  water,  which  within 
the  mouth  was  very  deep,  and  from  the  sea  to 
the  mouth  of  the  same,  with  the  tide — which  they 
fouj|d  to  rise  eight  feet — any  great  ship  laden 
might  pass  up."  When  they  had  held  a  brief 
conference  with  the  natives  by  signs,  and  had 
sufficiently  admired  the  beautiful  bay  of  New 
York,  which  Verrazzani  describes  as  "a  most 
pleasant  lake,  about  three  leagues  in  compass," 
the  anchor  was  again  weighed,  and  dropped  within 
the  fine  semi-circular  harbour  of  Newport,  where 
they  met  "the  goodliest  people,  and  of  the  fairest 
conditions,"  of  any  they  had  found  in  their  voy- 
age. They  were  of  noble  proportions,  some  "  of 
the  colour  of  brass,  and  some  inclining  to  white- 
ness; black  and  quick  eyed,  of  sweet  and  pleasant 
countenance,  imitating;  much  the  old  fashion." 

During  the  fifteen  days  they  remained  at  this 
place,  exploring  parties,  guided  by  the  hospitable 
savages,  often  ventured  five  or  six  leagues  inland, 
where  they  found  extensive  plains,  the  soil  of 
which  was  very  fertile,  and  forests  "so  great  and 
thick  that  any  army,  were  it  never  so  great,  might 


1608.]      CARTIER — ROBERVAL — CIIAMPLAIN.      25 

have  hid  itself  therein;"  the  trees  being  of  oak  and 
cypress,  and  of  other  kinds  unknown  in  Europe. 

Taking  leave  of  the  courteous  and  charitable 
inhabitants  of  Rhode  Island,  Verrazzani,  still 
coasting  northward,  sailed  along  the  shores  of 
New  England,  and  at  length  terminated  his  ex- 
plorations at  the  island  of  Newfoundland,  after 
having  ranged  the  North  American  continent  for 
a  distance  of  seven  hundred  leagues.  In  July, 
1524,  he  reached  the  port  of  Dieppe,  from  whence 
he  wrote  to  the  king  an  account  of  his  remarka- 
ble voyage;  and  upon  the  discoveries  alleged  to 
have  been  made  by  him  at  this  time,  the  claims 
of  France  to  a  wide  extent  of  territory  on  the 
Western  continent  were  subsequently  founded. 

The  voyages  of  Cartier  and  lloberval  followed. 
The  river  St.  Lawrence  was  discovered  by  the 
former  in  1534,  and  various  efforts  at  colonization 
were  subsequently  made,  all  of  which  proved  un- 
successful, until  the  spring  of  1605,  when  the  first 
permanent  French  settlement  was  established  at 
Port  Royal,  on  the  island  of  Nova  Scotia.  In 
1608,  the  energetic  Champlain  founded  Quebec. 
The  following  year,  being  desirous  of  securing 
the  friendship  of  the  Algonquins  and  Hurons,  he 
joined  them  in  an  expedition  against  the  Iro- 
quois, or  Five  Nations,  a  powerful  confederacy, 
which  had  been  for  many  years  a  terror  to  the 
surrounding  tribes. 

When  Champlain  first  entered  Canada,  this 

3 


26  HISTOKY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1608. 

renowned  confederacy,  consisting  of  the  Mohawk, 
Oneida,  Onondaga,  Cayuga,  and  Seneca  nations  of 
Indians,  occupied,  by  conquest  from  the  Mohican 
tribes,  the  middle,  northern,  and  western  portions 
of  the  territory  which  was  subsequently  included 
within  the  limits  of  the  province  of  New  York. 

Knowing  how  formidable  the  proximity  of  this 
haughty  and  warlike  Indian  republic  would  be  to 
a  feeble  French  colony,  settled  on  their  imme- 
diate borders,  he  conceived  the  design  of  humbling 
the  power  of  the  Iroquois,  by  rendering  assist- 
ance to  their  hostile  but  weaker  neighbours,  and 
of  inducing  them  by  this  means  to  unite  in  a  gene- 
ral league  of  amity  with  the  French. 

Influenced  by  what  appeared  to  be  the  wisdom 
of  this  policy,  he  joined  a  war-party  of  his  savage 
allies,  and  leaving  Quebec,  then  an  insignificant 
village,  consisting  of  a  few  scattered  cottages  in 
the  midst  of  newly-cleared  fields  and  gardens, 
ascended  the  river  Sorel  to  the  rapids  near 
Chambly.  Notwithstanding  he  had  been  kept  in 
utter  ignorance  of  this  obstruction  to  the  course 
of  his  vessel,  he  determined  to  proceed.  Sending 
most  of  his  party  back  to  Quebec,  he  crossed  the 
portage  with  his  allies,  and  re-embarked  in  one 
of  their  frail  canoes,  attended  only  by  two  Eu- 
ropeans. After  travelling  in  this  i^aanner  for 
several  days,  he  entered,  for  the  first  time,  the 
lake  which  now  bears  his  name,  and  traversing 
its  whole  extent,  suddenly  discovered  near  Ti- 


1608.]  INDIAN   BATTLE.  27 

conderoga  a  number  of  canoes  filled  with  Iro- 
quois. Both  parties  with  wild  shouts  of  exulta- 
tion pulled  rapidly  for  the  shore,  where  they  com- 
menced selecting  their  ground  for  the  battle.  As 
it  was  then  late  in  the  night,  the  Iroquois,  in 
answer  to  a  challenge  from  the  allies,  declined 
fighting  until  the  next  day,  when  they  could  see 
themselves. 

In  the  gray  of  the  following  morning,  Cham- 
plain  placed  his  two  countrymen,  supported  by  a 
small  detachment  of  savages,  in  ambush,  on  the 
flank  of  the  enemy.  Both  parties  were  about  two 
hundred  strong;  but  the  Iroquois,  being  uncon- 
scious of  the  powerful  aid  which  the  Ilurons  and 
Algonquins  had  received  in  the  firearms  of  the 
Europeans,  were  confident  of  an  easy  victory. 
Previous  to  the  onset,  Champlain  had  been  re- 
quested by  his  allies  to  single  out  the  three 
leaders  of  the  enemy,  who  could  readily  be  dis- 
tinguished from  their  followers  by  the  superior 
size  of  their  feathered  ornaments.  This  having 
been  arranged,  the  Huron  and  Algonquin  war- 
riors sounded  the  war-whoop,  and,  darting  out  in 
a  body  from  their  cover  of  fallen  timber,  advanced 
some  two  hundred  feet  in  front  of  the  enemy,  and 
then,  deflecting  to  the  right  and  left,  displayed 
to  the  astonished  gaze  of  the  Iroquois  the  first 
white  man  they  had  ever  beheld,  clad  in  strange 
apparel,  and  armed  with  weapons  of  singular 
shape  and  unknown  power.    But  their  amazement 


28  HISTORY   OP  NEW  YORK.  [1608. 

•was  changed  Into  extreme  terror,  when  they  saw 
fire  issue  from  the  levelled  tube,  first  from  the 
arquebuss  of  Champlain  in  the  centre,  and  then 
from  those  of  his  two  companions  on  the  flank, 
and  beheld  two  of  their  chiefs  fall  dead,  and  the 
third  reel  back  dangerously  wounded.  The  allies 
charged  immediately,  and  the  Iroquois,  after  re- 
ceiving a  few  more  vollies  from  the  Frenchmen, 
fled  panic-stricken  from  the  field.  In  the  pur- 
suit many  were  killed,  and  some  few  prisoners 
were  taken.  At  length  the  victors  desisted  from 
following  the  fugitive  enemy  any  longer,  and  re- 
turning to  the  field  of  battle,  passed  two  hours  in 
celebrating  their  triumph,  by  songs  and  dances. 
Not  a  single  one  of  the  allies  had  been  killed,  and 
but  very  few  wounded.  Satisfied  with  their  suc- 
cess, they  now  returned  homeward ;  but  amused 
themselves  with  torturing  one  of  their  prisoners 
by  the  way.  Shocked  at  the  horrible  barbarities 
to  which  he  was  a  witness,  Champlain  suddenly 
put  an  end  to  the  agony  of  the  sufiierer,  by  de- 
spatching him  with  his  own  hand. 

Such  was  the  commencement  of  the  feud  be- 
tween the  Iroquois  and  the  French.  The  policy 
of  Champlain,  carried  out  in  several  similar  ex- 
peditions during  the  succeeding  year,  instead  of 
humbling  the  Five  Nations  to  sue  for  peace,  in- 
stigated them  to  revenge,  and  engendered  that 
intense  hatred  of  the  Canadian  colonists,  which 
made  them  fast  allies  of  the  Dutch  and  English, 


1609.]  HENRY   HUDSON.  29 

during  the  whole  period  that  the  French  retained 
possession  of  the  northern  territory. 


CHAPTER  II. 


Voyage  of  Henry  Hudson — Attempts  to  reach  Nova  Zenibla — • 
Is  impeded  by  ice — Ranges  the  North  American  coast  south- 
ward— Reaches  Penobscot — Trades  with  the  natives — At- 
tacks and  plunders  tlicm — Rounds  Cape  Cod — Is  blown  off 
the  Capes  of  Virginia — Returns  north — Discovers  Delaware 
Bay — Enters  Sandy  Hook- — Death  of  Colman — Discovers 
the  Great  North  or  Hudson  River — Explores  it — The  Pali- 
sades— West  Point — The  Catskills — Traffic  with  the  natives 
— Their  hospitality — The  exploration  continued — 'Hudson 
arrives  in  the  vicinity  of  Albany — Is  visited  by  numbers  of 
Indians — Singular  expedient  to  test  their  friendliness — Scene 
of  intoxication — The  Iroquois  tradition  concerning  it — Re- 
turn of  Hudson — An  Indian  killed — Ambush  near  Harlem 
River — Skirmfsh  with  the  Manhattans — Departure. 

About  the  same  time  that  Champlain  was  on 
his  first  expedition  against  the  Iroquois,  Henry 
Hudson,  an  English  mariner  in  the  empluy  of  the 
Dutch  East  India  Company,  was  penetrating  the 
arctic  regions  in  the  vain  search  for  a  northern 
passage  to  India.  With  a  small  yacht,  or  fly- 
"boat,  called  the  Crescent,  manned  by  a  mixed 
crew  of  Englishmen  and  Hollanders,  he  attempted 
to  reach  Nova  Zembla;  but  being  impeded  by 
masses  of  ice,  he  changed  the  course  of  his  vessel 
to  the  south-west,  ran  down  the  coast  of  Acadia, 
and  on  the  17th  of  July,  1609,  anchored  ofi"  the 


30  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1609. 

Bay  of  Penobscot.  Finding  a  good  harbour  near 
by,  he  entered  it  the  following  day,  and  remained 
there  a  ^yeek,  preparing  a  new  foremast  and 
mending  the  tattered  sails.  While  he  was  thus 
engaged,  a  large  concourse  of  natives  arrived  in 
two  French  shallops  and  in  canoes,  and  proposed 
to  traffic  furs  for  such  European  commodities  as 
he  might  have  on  board.  Something  or  other 
soon  occurring  to  elicit  suspicion  of  their  inten- 
tions, Hudson  ordered  a  strict  watch  to  be  kept. 
The  day  before  he  left  the  harbour,  having  refit- 
ted his  yacht,  he  sent  out  a  boat  with  six  men  to 
capture  one  of  the  shallops,  while  twelve  men, 
armed  with  muskets  and  light  field-pieces,  Avent 
ashore  in  a  second  boat,  and  driving  the  savages 
from  their  huts,  plundered  them  of  all  the  valua- 
bles they  contained. 

LeaA^ng  at  once  the  immediate  scene  of  this 
outrage,  Hudson  glided  out  to  the  mouth  of  the 
harbour,  from  whence  he  set  sail  on  the  following 
day.  Running  down  the  coast,  he  rounded  the 
promontory  of  Cape  Cod,  and  steering  a  southerly 
direction  reached  the  Capes  of  Virginia  on  the 
18th  of  August.  Being  driven  out  to  sea  for 
eight  days  by  a  succession  of  severe  gales,  he  did 
not  land  and  visit  the  colony  of  his  countrymen, 
which  he  knew  to  have  been  settled  on  the  James 
River  two  years  before ;  but  turning  northward, 
discovered  the  Delaware  Bay,  examined  its  cur- 
rents, soundings,  and  the  aspect  of  the  land;  and 


1609.]      HUDSON   ENTERS    SANDY  HOOK.  31 

then,  without  going  on  shore,  continued  his  course 
northAvardly  until  the  2d  of  September,  when  he 
came  in  sight  of  the  highhinds  of  Ncversink,  and 
entering  the  next  day  the  southern  waters  of  New 
York,  anchored  during  the  same  afternoon  within 
the  harbour  of  Sandy  Hook. 

He  was  immediately  visited  by  the  natives, 
some  of  whom  were  clad  loosely  in  pliant  deer- 
skins, while  others  were  dressed  in  furs,  and  wore 
mantles  of  feathers.  They  brought  on  board 
small  supplies  of  maize  and  green  tobacco,  which 
they  exchanged  for  trifles. 

While  remaining  at  anchor  in  this  harbour,  he 
sent  a  boat  with  five  men  to  sound  through  the 
Narrows,  and  examine  the  nature  of  the  country 
beyond.  They  found  a  fertile  soil,  covered  with 
luxuriant  grass  and  goodly  trees,  and  adorned 
with  such  a  profusion  of  wild  flowers  that  the  air 
was  filled  with  their  fragrance.  As  the  boat, 
however,  was  retui-ning,  its  small  crew  was  sud- 
denly assaulted  by  a  number  of  Indians  in  two 
large  canoes,  and  John  Colman,  one  of  Hudson's 
veteran  seamen,  shot  with  an  arrow  in  the  neck. 
Two  others  were  also  wounded,  but  not  mortally. 
This  sad  accident  is  supposed  to  have  arisen  from 
the  Indians  having  been  suddenly  surprised  at 
the  appearance  of  strange  men  within  their  wa- 
ters, and  not  from  any  preconcert  on  their  part ; 
for  as  soon  as  they  had  discharged  their  arrows, 
they  fled  with  great  speed.     Two  days  afterward 


32  HISTORY    OF    NEW    YORK.  [1609. 

the  traffic  Avitlx  the  natives  was  resumed.  But 
Hudson,  a  strict,  stern,  cautious  man,  was  no 
longer  willing  to  hazard  the  safety  of  his  vessel 
and  crew  among  a  people  of  whose  pacific  in- 
tentions he  began  to  entertain  serious  doubts. 
Weighing  anchor,  and  passing  through  the  Nar- 
rows on  the  11th  of  September,  he  entered  New 
York  Bay,  "an  excellent  harbour  for  all  winds," 
where  he  remained  until  the  next  afternoon. 
Having  determined  to  avoid  all  intercourse,  as 
far  as  it  was  possible,  with  the  savages  who  re- 
sided on  the  island  of  Manhattan,  he  sailed  up 
the  great  North  River  two  leagues,  and,  on  the 
13th,  proceeded  with  a  light  wind  and  flood  tide 
as  far  as  Phillipsburg.  Here  he  anchored  for 
the  night.  The  following  day  he  continued  his 
voyage,  having  on  his  left  the  Palisade  rocks, 
presenting  through  a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  un- 
broken save  by  the  valley  of  the  Nyack,  a  lofty 
perpendicular  front,  varying  in  altitude  from  three 
to  seven  hundred  feet;  while  on  his  right  he  be- 
held the  river  bounded  by  a  low  undulating  bor- 
der, fringed  with  noble  trees,  whose  foliage  was 
just  beginning  to  be  tinted  with  the  rich  colours 
of  autumn.  Sailing  onward,  he  saw  the  river 
gradually  expand  into  a  bay,  contract  again,  and 
again  expand,  until  in  the  distance  before  him  it 
appeared  to  be  abruptly  shut  in  by  a  barrier  of 
mountains.  The  bold  heart  of  the  mariner  sank 
vrithin  him  as  he  saw  what  seemed  to  him  the 


1609.]  VOYAGE   UP   THE   HUDSON.  33 

termination  of  his  voyage.  At  length  he  dis- 
covered a  deep,  narrow,  winding  river,  up  which 
he  sailed  until  he  came  to  West  Point,  where  he 
dropped  anchor,  and  waited  until  daylight  for  the 
farther  prosecution  of  his  discovery.  As  soon  as 
the  mist  of  the  morning  had  cleared  away,  he 
continued  his  voyage  fifty  miles  farther  up  the 
river,  where,  in  full  view  of  the  Catskill  Moun- 
tains, he  remained  until  the  following  evening, 
trafficking  with  the  natives,  "very  loving  people," 
who  spoke  the  language  of  the  Mohawks.  Going 
with  them  on  shore  in  one  of  their  canoes,  he  was 
conducted  to  a  house  made  of  the  bark  of  trees, 
exceedingly  smooth,  and  well  finished  both  within 
and  without.  Near  the  house,  he  saw  a  quantity 
of  corn  and  beans  drying  in  the  sun,  sufficient  to 
have  freighted  three  ships.  The  Indians  received 
their  visitors  with  great  hospitality,  spread  mats 
for  them  to  seat  themselves  upon,  and  brought 
them  some  food  in  wooden  bowls  painted  red, 
while  two  men  were  despatched  in  search  of  game, 
who  speedily  returned  with  a  brace  of  wild 
pigeons,  A  fat  dog  was  also  killed,  and  skinned 
with  shells  taken  from  the  water.  These  prepa- 
rations were  made  in  expectation  of  Hudson  and 
his  companions  remaining  during  the  night ;  but 
they  determined  to  return  on  board  their  ship. 
Apprehensive  that  they  had  been  influenced  to 
this  course  through  fear  of  their  bows  and  arrows, 
the  noble-hearted  savages  immediately  broke  them 


34  HISTORY   OP   NEW  YORK.  [1609. 

into  pieces,  and  thrcAv  them  into  the  fire.  But 
the  prudence  of  Hudson  was  proof  against  even 
this  act  of  friendliness,  and  he  persisted  in  taking 
his  leave.  Soon  after,  he  proceeded  up  the  river 
two  leagues,  when  meeting  with  shoal  water,  he 
anchored  off  the  flats,  opposite  to  which  the  city 
of  Hudson  now  stands.  Continuing  on  his  course 
by  short  stretches,  during  the  three  following 
days,  he  reached,  on  the  19th  of  September,  the 
vicinity  of  Albany,  where  he  remained  with  his 
yacht,  trafficking  with  the  natives  for  provisions 
and  furs,  while  the  mate  with  four  men  ascended 
the  river  in  a  boat,  and  sounded  the  depth  of  the 
channel  as  far  up  as  the  junction  of  the  Mohawk 
with  the  Hudson,  or  opposite  the  present  town 
of  Lansingburgh. 

Hudson  arrived  at  Schenectadea,  now  called 
Albany,  about  noon.  The  natives  immediately 
came  flocking  on  board,  bringing  with  them 
grapes  and  pumpkins,  together  with  otter  and 
beaver  skins,  which  they  exchanged  for  hatchets, 
beads,  knives,  and  other  trifles. 

Desirous  of  testing  if  any  of  the  chiefs  were 
disposed  to  be  treacherous,  Hudson  resorted  to 
the  singular  expedient  of  plying  them  freely  with 
wine  and  strong  liquors.  Under  the  influence  of 
these  strange  potations,  they  all  grew  exceedingly 
merry,  and  one  of  them  became  intoxicated.  On 
beholding  him  stagger  and  fall,  the  natives  be- 
came dumb  from  utter  astonishment.     They  all 


1609.]  INTOXICATED  CHIEF.  85 

hurried  ashore  in  tl#ir  canoes,  and  did  not  again 
return  to  the  ship  until  noon  of  the  next  day, 
-when,  finding  their  chief  perfectly  restored,  they 
were  highly  gratified.  Renewing  their  visit  in 
the  afternoon,  they  brought  with  them  presents 
of  tobacco  and  beads,  and  sending  for  a  platter 
of  venison,  caused  Hudson  to  eat  with  them. 
When  he  had  done  so,  they  all  departed  except 
the  old  chief,  who  still  remained  on  board,  in  the 
hope  of  obtaining  another  draught  of  that  attrac- 
tive but  poisonous  fire-water,  the  knowledge  of 
which  was  thus  first  introduced  to  the  Indians  of 
New  York. 

The  tradition  of  this  scene  of  intoxication,  on 
the  arrival  of  the  first  ship,  exists  among  the  Iro- 
quois Indians  until  this  day.  One  relation  trans- 
fers the  locality  from  Albany  to  New  York,  and 
is  as  follows :  "A  long  time  ago,  before  men  with 
white  skins  had  ever  been  seen,  some  Indians 
fishing  at  a  place  where  the  sea  widens,  espied 
something  at  a  distance  moving  upon  the  water. 
They  hurried  ashore,  collected  their  neighbom-s, 
who  together  returned  and  viewed  intensely  this 
astonishing  phenomenon.  What  it  could  be  baf- 
fled all  conjecture.  Some  suj)posed  it  a  large 
fish,  or  animal ;  others,  that  it  was  a  very  big 
house  floating  on  the  sea.  Perceiving  it  moving 
toward  land,  the  spectators  concluded  it  would  be 
proper  to  send  runners  in  different  directions  to 
carry  the  news  to  their  scattered  chiefs,  that  they 


36  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1609. 

might  send  off  for  the  immidiate  attendance  of 
their  warriors.  These  arriving  in  numbers  to 
behokl  the  sight,  and  perceiving  that  it  ■was  ac- 
tually moving  toward  them,  they  conjectured  that 
it  must  be  a  remarkably  large  house,  in  which  the 
Manitto,  or  Great  Spirit,  was  coming  to  visit 
them.  They  were  much  afraid,  and  yet  under 
no  apprehension  that  the  Great  Spirit  would  in- 
jure them.  They  worshipped  him.  The  chiefs 
now  assembled  at  York  Island,  and  consulted  in 
what  manner  they  should  receive  their  Manitto. 
Meat  was  prepared  for  a  sacrifice.  The  women 
were  directed  to  prepare  the  best  of  victuals. 
Idols  or  images  were  examined  and  put  in  order. 
A  grand  dance  they  thought  would  be  pleasing, 
and,  in  addition  to  the  sacrifice,  might  appease 
him  if  angry. 

"  The  conjurors  were  also  set  to  work  to  deter- 
mine what  this  phenomenon  portended,  and  what 
the  result  would  be.  To  these,  men,  women,  and 
children  looked  up  for  advice  and  protection. 
Utterly  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  and  distracted  alter- 
nately by  hope  and  fear,  in  their  confusion  a  grand 
dance  commenced.  Meantime  fresh  runners  ar- 
rived, declaring  it  to  be  a  great  house  of  various 
colours,  and  full  of  living  creatures.  It  now  ap- 
peared certain  that  it  was  their  Manitto,  probably 
bringing  some  new  kind  of  game.  Others,  ai'- 
riving,  declared  it  positively  to  be  full  of  people 
of  different  colour  and  dress  from  theirs,  and  that 


1609.]  CURIOUS   INTERVIEAV.  37 

one  in  particular  appeared  clothed  altogether  in 
red.  This  then  must  be  the  Manitto.  They 
were  lost  in  admiration,  and  could  not  imagine 
what  the  vessel  was,  whence  it  came,  or  what  all 
this  portended. 

"  They  are  now  hailed  from  the  vessel  in  a 
language  they  could  not  understand.  They  an- 
swer by  a  shout,  or  yell,  in  their  way.  The  large 
canoe  stops.  A  smaller  canoe  comes  on  shore 
with  the  red  man  in  it,  some  stay  by  his  canoe  to 
guard  it.  The  chiefs  and  wise  men  form  a  circle, 
into  which  the  red  man  and  two  attendants  ap- 
proach. He  salutes  them  with  a  friendly  counte- 
nance, and  they  return  the  salute  after  their  man- 
ner. They  are  amazed  at  their  colour  and 
dress,  particularly  with  him,  who,  glittering  in 
red,  wore  something — perhaps  lace  and  buttons — 
they  could  not  comprehend.  He  7nust  be  the 
Great  Manitto,  they  thought ;  but  why  should  he 
have  a  white  skin  ? 

"A  large,  elegant  bottle  is  brought  by  one  of 
the  supposed  Manitto's  servants,  from  which  a 
liquid  is  poured  into  a  small  cup  or  glass,  and 
handed  to  the  Manitto.  He  drinks,  has  the  glass 
refilled,  and  handed  to  the  chief  near  him.  He 
takes  it,  smells  it,  and  passes  it  to  the  next,  who 
does  the  same.  The  glass  in  this  manner  is  passed 
round  the  circle,  and  is  about  to  be  returned  to 
the  red  clothed  man,  when  one  of  them,  a  great 
warrior,  harangues  them  on  the  impropriety  of 
4 


38  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1C09. 

returning  the  cup  unemptied.  <  It  was  handed 
to  them,'  he  said  'to  drink  out  of  as  he  had.  To 
follow  his  example  would  please  him  ;  to  reject  it, 
might  provoke  his  wrath ;  and,  if  no  one  else 
would,  he  would  drink  it  himself,  let  what  would 
follow ;  for  it  was  better  for  one  even  to  die,  than 
that  a  whole  nation  should  be  destroyed.' 

"  He  then  took  the  glass,  smelled  at  it,  again 
addressed  them,  bidding  them  adieu,  and  drank 
its  contents.  All  eyes  were  now  fixed  upon  him. 
He  soon  began  to  stagger.  The  women  cried, 
supposing  him  in  fits.  He  rolled  on  the  ground. 
They  bemoaned  his  fate ;  they  thought  him  dy- 
ing. He  fell  asleep.  They  at  first  thought  he 
had  expired,  but  soon  perceived  he  still  breathed. 
He  awoke,  jumped  up,  and  declared  he  never  felt 
more  happy.  He  asked  for  more;  and  the  whole 
assembly  imitating  him,  became  intoxicated. 

"  While  this  intoxication  lasted,  the  whites 
confined  themselves  to  their  vessel ;  but  when  it 
ceased,  the  man  with  red  clothes  returned,  and 
distributed  beads,  axes,  hoes,  and  stockings. 
They  soon  became  familiar,  and  conversed  by 
signs.  The  whites  made  them  understand  that 
they  would  now  return  home,  but  the  next  year 
they  would  visit  them  again  with  presents,  and 
stay  with  them  a  while ;  but  that  as  they  could 
not  live  without  eating,  they  should  then  want  a 
little  land  to  sow  seeds,  in  order  to  raise  herbs  to 
put  in  their  broth. 


1609.]  INDIANS    OUTWITTED.  39 

"  Accordingly,  a  vessel  returned  the  season 
following,  wlien  they  were  much  rejoiced  to  see 
each  other ;  but  the  whites  laughed  when  they 
saw  the  axes  and  the  hoes  hanging  as  ornaments 
to  their  breasts,  and  the  stockings  used  as  tobacco 
pouches.  The  whites  now  put  handles  in  the 
axes,  and  cut  down  trees  before  their  eyes,  and 
dug  the  ground,  and  showed  them  the  use  of  the 
stockings.  Here,  they  say,  a  general  laugh  en- 
sued, to  Ijiink  they  had  remained  ignorant  of  the 
use  of  these  things,  and  had  borne  so  long  such 
heavy  metal  suspended  round  their  necks.  Fa- 
miliarity daily  increasing  bet'sveen  them  and  the 
whites,  the  latter  now  proposed  to  stay  with  them, 
asking  them  only  for  so  much  land  as  the  hide  of 
a  bullock,  spread  before  them,  could  cover  or  en- 
compass.    They  granted  the  request. 

"The  whites  then  took  a  knife,  and  beginning 
at  one  place  on  this  hide,  cut  it  into  a  rope  not 
thicker  than  the  finger  of  a  little  child.  They 
then  took  the  rope,  drew  it  gently  along  in  a  cir- 
cular form,  and  took  in  a  large  piece  of  ground. 
The  Indians  were  surprised  at  their  superior  wit, 
but  did  not  contend  w'ith  them  for  a  little  ground, 
as  they  had  enough.  They  lived  contentedly 
together  for  a  long  time,  but  the  new-comers  from 
time  to  time  asked  for  more  land,  which  was 
readily  obtained.  And  thus  they  gradually  pro- 
ceeded up  .the  Mahicannittuck,  or  Hudson  River, 
until  they  began   to   believe  they  would  want 


40  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1609. 

all  their  country,  which  proved  eventually  the 
case." 

Such  is  the  interesting  tradition,  of  the  Iro- 
quois, of  their  earliest  interviews  with  the  whites, 
and  the  incidents  which  rendered  those  meetings 
memorable. 

After  having  passed  several  days  in  friendly 
intercourse  and  profitable  trade  with  the  natives, 
Hudson,  finding  he  could  proceed  no  higher  up 
the  river  in  his  vessel,  set  out  on  his  retiirn.  His 
ship  again  grounding  opposite  the  spot  where  the 
city  of  Hudson  now  stands,  and  also  suifering  de- 
tention for  some  days  by  reason  of  adverse  winds, 
he  went  ashore  and  explored  the  western  bank 
of  the  river,  where  he  found  a  rich  soil,  covered 
with  goodly  oak,  walnut,  chestnut,  and  cedar  trees, 
with  abundance  of  slate  for  houses,  "  and  other 
good  stones."  , 

On  the  26th,  he  was  visited  by  two  canoes,  in 
one  of  which  came  the  old  chief  who  had  been 
intoxicated  at  Albany.  He  had  descended  the 
river  thirty  miles  to  testify  his  love,  bringing  with 
him  another  old  man  bearing  strings  of  beads  as 
a  present.  Hudson  caused  them,  and  the  four 
women  by  whom  they  were  accompanied,  to  dine 
with  him.  Two  of  the  latter  were  young  girls, 
some  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age,  who  be- 
haved themselves  "very  modestly."  Dropping 
down  the  river  on  the  27th,  he  anchored  on  the 
29th  in  the  vicinity  of  Newburgh,  of  which  he 


1609.]  CRUEL    PUXISIIMENT.  41 

took  particular  notice,  as  a  "pleasant  place  to 
build  a  town  in."  Here  he  remained  bartering 
with  the  natives,  until  the  afternoon  of  October 
1st,  when  he  sailed  with  a  fair  wind  through  the 
Highlands,  and  after  descending  the  river  seven 
leagues,  the  wind  failing,  he  anchored  at  the 
mouth  of  Haverstraw  Bay. 

The  Indians  of  the  Highlands,  whose  chief  vil- 
lage was  in  the  vicinity  of  Anthony's  Nose — a 
name  which  has  been  given  to  an  elevated  peak 
on  the  east  side  of  the  North  or  Hudson  River — 
soon  came  crowding  on  board  in  great  numbers. 
One  of  them,  dissatisfied  with  the  trifles  he  had 
received  in  payment  for  his  furs,  and  desirous  of 
displaying  to  his  friends  something  of  a  different 
character,  lurked  in  his  canoe  about  the  stern 
of  the  ship,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  off 
some  article  or  other  from  this  wonderful  floating 
structure. 

Watching  his  opportunity,  he  clambered  up  the 
rudder,  and  entering  the  cabin  window,  stole  a 
pillow  and  a  few  articles  of  w^earing  apparel. 
For  this  act,  so  venial  in  a  poor  ignorant  savage, 
he  was  immediately  shot  down  by  the  brutal 
mate.  His  companions,  panic-stricken,  took  to 
flight.  In  an  effort  to  recover  the  articles,  an- 
other Indian  had  one  of  his  hands  cut  off,  and 
was  drowned. 

Leaving  the  scene  of  this  disaster,  Hudson  con- 
tinued on  his  way,  stopped  for  the  night  off  the 
4* 


42  HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK.  [1609. 

mouth  of  Croton  River,  sailed  again  at  daybreak, 
and  descending  the  river  twenty-one  miles,  came 
to  an  anchor  near  the  upper  end  of  the  island  of 
Manhattan. 

Previous  to  exploring  the  great  river  which 
now  bears  his  name,  Hudson,  perhaps  in  retalia- 
tion for  the  death  of  Colman,  had  made  prisoners 
of  two  Manhattan  Indians,  designing  to  hold 
them  either  as  hostages  for  the  future  pacific  be- 
haviour of  their  tribe,  or  with  a  view  of  carrying 
them  to  Europe.  Opposite  West  Point,  as  he 
went  up  the  river,  these  prisoners  had  escaped, 
and  making  their  way  back  with  all  speed  to  their 
friends,  collected  a  large  party  of  armed  warriors, 
who  lay  in  wait  for  the  return  of  the  vessel  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  inlet  of  Harlem  River. 

Near  to  this  inlet  the  ship  was  now  hove  to. 
One  of  the  savages  who  had  escaped,  accompanied 
by  many  others,  came  out  in  two  canoes ;  but  not 
being  suffered  to  approach  the  vessel,  they  fell 
back  near  the  stern,  and  discharged  a  volley  of 
arrows  at  the  crew.  A  fire  was  immediately  re- 
turned from  the  vessel,  by  which  two  or  three 
of  the  savages  were  killed.  Finding  the  numbers 
on  shore  increasing,  the  ship  was  at  once  got  un- 
der way.  As  it  moved  along,  the  main  body  of 
Indians  ran  to  the  point  upon  which  Fort  Wash- 
ington was  subsequently  erected,  and  continued 
the  assault  by  another  volley  of  arrows.  The  dis- 
charge from  a  cannon  killing  two  of  them,  the 


1609.]       HUDSON   RETURNS   TO    EUROPE.  43 

rest  fled  into  the  woods ;  but  a  dozen  of  the  bold- 
est speedily  returned,  and  entering  a  canoe,  ad- 
vanced resolutely  against  the  ship.  The  cannon 
was  fired  a  second  time,  and  the  ball,  passing 
entirely  through  the  canoe,  killed  one  of  the  war- 
riors. A  fire  from  the  deck  about  the  same  time 
killing  several  others,  the  fight  terminated,  with 
the  loss  of  nine  Indians.  Hudson,  soon  after, 
descended  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  on  the 
4th  of  October  put  to  sea,  shaping  his  course 
south-east  by  east. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Hudson  returns  to  Europe — Reaches  Dartmouth — Communi- 
cates with  his  employers — Sails  on  a  new  voyage  of  discovery 
— Enters  Hudson's  Bay — Reaches  its  southern  Hmit — 
Searches  for  an  outlet — Is  frozen  in — Scarcity  of  his  provi- 
sions— Mutinous  condition  of  his  crew — He  sails  for  the 
mouth  of  the  bay — Mutiny — Abandonment  of  Hudson  and 
his  companions — Signal  retribution — The  Dutch  trafhc  with 
the  Indians — Captain  Argall — New  explorations  —  Biok 
coasts  Long  Island — Discovers  the  Housatonic  and  Connecti- 
cut Rivers — Returns  with  Christiaanse  to  Manhattan — Forti- 
fied posts  erected  at  Manhattan  and  Albany — May  examines 
the  Delaware  Bay — Alliance  with  the  Iroquois. 

After  leaving  Sandy  Hook,  Hudson  held  a 
consultation  with  his  crew,  as  to  whether  they 
should  continue  their  search  for  a  new  route  to 
the  Pacific,  or  return  to  Europe.     Finding  their 


44  HISTOKY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1610. 

opinions  discordant,  he  concluded  to  sail  for 
Amsterdam,  and  report  to  liis  employers.  The 
voyage  across  the  Atlantic  was  prosperous ;  but, 
as  he  approached  the  coast  of  England,  his  men 
became  mutinous,  and  compelled  him  to  put  into 
Dartmouth,  where  he  arrived  on  the  7th  of  No- 
vember, 1009. 

He  immediately  wrote  to  the  directors  of  the 
Dutch  East  India  Company,  transmitting  them 
his  journal,  together  with  an  account  of  his  dis- 
coveries. He  also  proposed  to  them  the  plan  of 
another  voyage,  which  he  volunteered  to  under- 
take upon  certain  conditions ;  but  before  they 
had  decided  whether  to  accept  or  decline  his  offer, 
the  English  government  forbade  him  from  again 
entering  into  the  service  of  the  Dutcli. 

Early  the  following  year,  a  London  company, 
in  whose  elhploy  Hudson  had  made  two  previous 
voyages  in  search  of  a  new  route  to  India,  en- 
gaged him  to  explore  the  inlets  to  the  west  of 
Davis's  Straits,  through  one  of  which  it  was  con- 
jectured that  a  passage  might  be  found  to  the 
South  Sea. 

Embarking  on  board  a  ship  called  the  Discove- 
ry, with  a  crew  of  twenty-three  men,  Hudson  left 
Blackwall  on  the  17th  of  April,  1610,  and  pass- 
ing Greenland,  Iceland,  and  Frobisher's  Straits, 
entered,  on  the  2d  of  August,  the  straits  which  now 
bear  his  name.  After  having  encountered  many 
perils  from  storms,  and  drivii^g  ice,  and  a  great 


1610.]  HUDSON   FROZEN   IN.  45 

whirling  sea,  he  penetrated  into  Hudson's  Bay, 
exulting  in  the  belief  that  he  had  found  the  long- 
sought  passage  to  the  Pacific.  Doomed  to  disap- 
pointment by  reaching  at  length  the  soutiiern 
limit  of  the  bay,  he  shaped  his  course  northward. 
Difficulties  occurring  soon  after  between 'himself 
and  his  crew,  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  cashier 
both  the  mate  and  the  boatswain,  and  advance 
others  to  their  offices.  Disheartened  and  per- 
plexed at  finding  himself  embayed,  he  wasted  the 
remainder  of  the  summer  in  unavailing  efibrts  to 
discover  an  outlet  to  this  great  inland  sea.  Sail- 
ing to  and  fro,  and  with  not  more  than  six  months' 
provisions  on  board,  the  season  became  so  far 
advanced,  that  on  the  1st  of  November,  he  was 
compelled  to  moor  his  ship  in  a  small  cove, 
where,  in  ten  days,  it  was  completely  frozen  in. 
Here  they  remained,  arctic  prisoners,  until  June, 
1611. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  difficulties  between  Hud- 
son and  his  crew  had  increased.  For  the  first 
few  months  they  subsisted  principally  on  wild 
fowl ;  but  when  these  were  gone,  many  of  the  men 
fell  sick,  and  the  others,  emaciated  by  want  of 
food,  searched  the  surrounding  country,  and 
ate  with  avidity  even  the  most  loathsome  things 
to  appease  their  hunger.  At  the  breaking  up 
of  the  ice,  they  received,  for  the  first  time,  a  visit 
from  one  of  the  natives,  who,  after  obtaining  some 
presents,  promised  to  return  in  a  few  days ;  but 


46  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [IGIO. 

altliougli  anxiously  expected,  he  never  came  back. 
Seeing  the  woods  on  fire  to  the  south  and  south- 
west, Hudson  embarked  in  the  shallop  with  eight 
men,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  such  supplies  from 
the  Indians  as  would  enable  him  to  prosecute  his 
voyage.  Disappointed  in  his  endeavours  to  come 
up  with  \iiem,  for  they  fled  before  him,  he  re- 
turned disconsolately  to  his  vessel,  and  prepared 
to  leave  the  dreary  and  inhospitable  region  Avhich 
he  had  wasted  seven  months  in  examining. 

Dividing  among  his  crew  the  last  remaining 
bread,  amounting  only  to  a  pound  for  each  man, 
he  wept  while  he  gave  it  to  them.  Quitting  his 
winter  harbour  about  the  middle  of  Juno,  he 
steered  north-west  from  the  mouth  of  the  bay ;  but 
meeting  with  ice,  and  baffled  by  contrary  winds, 
was  soon  after  compelled  to  come  to  an  anchor. 

During  the  week  he  was  thus  detained,  the 
discontent  which  had  for  a  long  time  existed 
among  his  crew,  broke  out  into  open  mutiny. 
Headed  by  his  deposed  mate,  Henry  Green,  the 
mutineers,  at  daybreak  on  the  21st  of  June,  seized 
Hudson,  his  youthful  son,  and  six  seamen,  and 
thrust  them  into  the  shallop.  A  fine  moral  inci- 
dent now  occurred.  Philip  Staffe,  the  carpenter, 
— a  man  of  a  brave,  hopeful  spirit,  and  generally 
beloved — after  attempting  in  vain  to  turn  the 
conspirators  from  their  purpose,  determined,  in 
opposition  to  their  wishes,  to  share  the  fate  of  his 
commander,  whatever  that  fate  might  be.     The 


1610.1  HUDSON   ABANDONED.  47 

wind  proving  favourable  about  this  time,  the  an- 
chor was  weighed,  and  as  soon  as  the  ship,  having 
at  her  stern  the  shallop,  had  become  partially 
free  from  the  surrounding  ice,  the  rope  was  cut, 
and  Hudson  and  his  eight  companions  were  mer- 
cilessly abandoned,  to  be  swallowed  up  by  the 
waters  of  that  wild  arctic  bay  which  tAey  were 
the  first  to  discover,  to  meet  a  lingering  death  by 
starvation,  or  to  fall  victims  to  the  fury  of  the 
savages,  whose  fires  had  been  discovered  to  the 
south-west.  Not  one  of  them  was  ever  heard  of 
after. 

This  cold-blooded  act  on  the  part  of  the  muti- 
neers was  destined  to  meet  with  a  signal  retribu- 
tion. After  beating  about  for  a  month,  and  barely 
escaping  shipwreck  on  three  several  occasions, 
they  at  length  reached,  on  the  19th  of  July,  the 
vicinity  of  Cape  Diggs,  where  they  fell  in  with  a 
number  of  savages  in  seven  canoes.  Being  wel- 
comed with  a  great  show  of  hospitality,  and  ap- 
prehending no  treachery.  Green,  Wilson,  and 
Thomas,  the  chief  conspirators,  went  ashore  the 
next  day,  unarmed,  to  meet  the  savages,  some  of 
whom  had  gathered  on  the  beach,  while  others 
were  dancing  and  gesticulating  on  the  hills  be- 
yond. Two  others  of  the  mutineers,  Perce  and 
Meter,  landed  at  the  same  time,  and  ascended 
the  rocks  to  gather  sorrel.  The  boat  was  left  in 
charge  of  one  Prickett,  a  lame  man,  who  had  only 
been  passively  implicated  in  the  desertion  of  Hud- 


48  HISTORY   OF   XEW   YORK.  [1610. 

son  and  his  unfortunate  companions.  ^Hiile  tliis 
guard  was  seated  at  the  stern,  some  savages  came 
out  from  an  ambush  near  by,  the  leader  of  whom 
sprang  upon  Prickett  and  wounded  him  in  several 
places ;  but  the  latter,  having  succeeded  in  draw- 
ing a  Scotch  dagger,  stabbed  the  savage  with  so 
direct  an  aim  that  he  fell  dead  on  the  boat.  At 
this  juncture,  Green  and  Wilson,  beset  on  all 
sides,  came  staggering  across  the  beach,  and 
tumbled  into  the  boat,  mortally  wounded.  ]\Ioter 
sprang  from  the  rocks  into  the  sea.  Perce,  badly 
hurt,  fought  with  a  hatchet  his  way  to  the  boat, 
pushed  it  from  the  shore,  and  helped  Meter  in. 
A  cloud  of  arrows  was  now  poured  in  upon  the 
fugitives,  by  one  of  which  Green  was  shot  dead. 
Wilson  and  the  other  wounded,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Prickett,  died  the  same  day,  leaving  only 
one  of  the  ringleaders  alive,  and  he  perished 
miserably  by  famine  before  the  ship  reached  Eng- 
land. 

Such  was  the  tragic  end  of  Henry  Hudson,  the 
renowned  arctic  discoverer,  and  the  first  explorer 
of  the  great  river  of  New  York,  and  such  the  fate 
of  the  principal  mutineers. 

It  was  not  until  after  the  lapse  of  several  years, 
that  the  United  Provinces  laid  formal  claim  to  the 
country  watered  by  the  Hudson  and  its  tributa- 
ries ;  but  in  the  mean  time,  a  profitable  trafBc  in 
furs  had  been  carried  on  wdth  the  natives,  the 
ships  of  the  Dutch  often  wintering  at  Albany,  or 


1G14.]        trading-Souses  erected.  •  49 

Bcaverwyck,  as  it  soon  came  to  be  called,  where 
tliey  exchanged  with  the  Iroquois,  or  Five  Na- 
tions, guns,  ammunition,  blankets,  and  trinkets, 
for  the  beaver  and  other  valuable  skins  which 
were  then  obtained  abundantly  in  that  region. 

The  first  voyage,  undertaken  in  1610,  proving 
extremely  lucrative,  led  to  an  extension  of  the 
traffic.  The  Iroquois,  bitterly  hostile  to  the 
French  settlement  in  Canada,  cemented  a  close 
friendship  with  the  Dutch;  while  the  Manhattans, 
though  the  hereditary  foes  to  the  INIohawks,  the 
most  important  of  the  Five  Nations,  so  far  re- 
laxed their  enmity  toward  the  Netherlandcrs  as 
to  permit  them  to  erect  tiading-houses  on  their 
island. 

In  1G14,  Captain  Argall,  the  kidnapper  of  Po- 
cahontas, Avhile  returning  from  an  expedition 
against  the  French  settlement  at  Port  Royal,  dis- 
covered a  few  rude  warehouses  and  huts  on  the 
island  of  Manhattan,  and  compelled  the  traders 
by  whom  they  were  occupied  to  acknowledge  the 
authority  of  England.  The  few  Dutch  residing 
on  the  island,  being  too  weak  to  resist,  sought 
safety  by  submission ;  but  soon  as  Argall  had 
taken  his  departure,  they  again  hoisted  their  own 
flag. 

A  few  months  previous  to  this,  the  States  Gene- 
ral of  the  Netherlands,  having  granted  to  such 
as  should  discover  new  lands  an  exclusive  trade 
to  them  for  four  successive  voyages,  a  company 

5 


50  HISTORY    OF  ]*EW   YORK.  [1614. 

of  merchants  fitted  out  five  ships  for  exploration 
and  traffic.  The  chief  command  of  this  little  fleet 
was  intrusted  to  Ilendrik  Christiaanse,  who  sailed 
with  three  of  the  vessels  on  an  exploring  expedi- 
tion to  the  north  of  Cape  Cod,  while  the  remaining 
two,  under  Captains  Blok  and  May,  steered  for 
the  ha/oour  of  New  York.  Shortly  after  his 
arrival,  the  ship  commanded  by  Blok,  being  ac- 
cidentally destroyed  by  fire,  he  built  on  the  coast 
a  yacht  of  sixteen  tons  burden,  and  passing 
through  the  East  River,  to  which  he  gave  the 
name  of  Helle-Gadt,  coasted  Long  Island,  and 
determined  its  insular  situation.  Meeting  with 
one  0^  the  ships  belonging  to  the  squadron  of 
Christiaanse,  he  embarked  on  board  of  it,  leaving 
his  yacht  to  be  used  by  a  fishing  party.  Having 
discovered  the  Housatonic,  and  explored  the  Con- 
necticut, which  he  called  Fresh  River,  he  next 
examined  Narraganset  Bay,  and  finally  returned 
with  Christiaanse  to  the  harbour  of  New  York. 
Here,  on  the  southern  point  of  Manhattan  Island, 
a  small  fort  was  erected  during  the  autumn  of 
this  year,  and  in  the  course  of  the  year  following, 
a  similar  redoubt,  surrounded  by  a  ditch,  and 
mounted  by  thirteen  small  pieces  of  artillery,  was 
erected  upon  a  small  island  a  little  below  the  pre- 
sent city  of  Albany. 

While  Christiaanse  and  Blok  were  exploring 
to  the  north  and  east.  May  steered  south  and  ex- 
am'ining  the  Delaware  Bay,  gave  to  the  north- 


1617.1    TREATY  WITH   THE  FIVE  NATIONS.  51 
> 

ern  cape  his  own  name.  His  exploration  was 
continued  soon  after  in  the  new  yacht  huilt  by 
Blok,  by  Hendricksen,  who  ascended  the  river  as 
far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Schuylkill. 

The  chief  command  of  these  fortified  trading- 
posts  thus  established  was  given  to  Christiaanse, 
Jacob  Elkins,  formerly  a  merchant's  ^erk  in 
Amsterdam,  receiving  the  appointment  of  lieu- 
tenant, or  commissary. 

The  redoubt  at  the  island  near  Albany,  being 
found  subject  to  overflow  during  high  floods,  it 
was  abandoned  in  1617,  and  another  fortification 
constructed  soon  after  on  the  mainland  four  miles 
south.  At  this  place  a  treaty  was  concluded  be- 
tween the  Dutch  and  Iroquois,  to  which  the  Dela- 
wares  and  Mohicans  were  also  parties.  This  im- 
portant alliance  with  the  Five  Nations  was  pro- 
ductive of  the  most  beneficial  results,  both  to  the 
Dutch  themselves  and  to  the  English,  who  suc- 
ceeded them.  It  was  maintained  in  good  faith 
for  many  years;  and  by  opposing  a  barrier  of 
friendly  Indians  to  the  encroachments  of  the 
French,  efiectually  precluded  them  from  inflicting 
more  than  a  temporary  injury  upon  the  frontier 
settlements,  while  it  secured  a  prompt  and  san- 
guinary retaliation. 


62  HISTOllY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1618. 


,   CHAPTER  IV. 

The  English  Puritans  in  Holland — First  project  of  a  settlement 
— Agents  sent  to  England  to  treat  with  the  Virginia  Com- 
pany— E)inharkation  at  Delfthaven — The  Mayflower — Acci- 
dents to  the  Speedwell — Arrival  off  Cape  Cod-^Plj'mouth 
settled — Dutch  West  India  Company  incorporated — Forts 
built  on  the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware — Arrival  of  Governor 
Minuits — The  first  colonists  of  New  jVetherland- — Increase 
of  the  fur  trade — Commercial  relations  with  New  Plymouth — 
Embassy  of  De  Razier — Dutch  scheme  of  colonization — Pro- 
vision concerning  Patroons — Swanandael  purchased — Pa- 
vonia — Renselaerwyk — Colony  of  De  Vries  near  Henlopen — 
Its  massacre  by  the  savages — Return  of  De  Vries — The  colo- 
ny re-established — Removal  of  Minuits — Administration  of 
Wouter  Van  Twiller — Trading-post  established  on  the  Con- 
necticut— Emigration  to  New  England — Settlements  on  the 
Connecticut — Difficulties  with  the  Patroons — The  manors 
of  Pavonia  and  Swanandael  revert  to  the  company — Removal 
of  Van  Twiller — WOliam  Keift  appointed  governor. 

While  the  Dutch  ^vere  thus  busily  engaged  in 
profiting  by  the  explorations  of  Hudson  and  sub- 
sequent navigators,  a  number  of  English  Puritans, 
who  had  taken  refuge  in  Amsterdam  and  Leyden 
from  religious  persecution  at  home,  unable  to  ac- 
commodate the  rigid  austerity  of  their  own  reli- 
gious tenets  to  the  looser  though  more  liberal 
opinions  of  the  Hollanders,  determined  at  length 
to  emigrate  to  some  new  country,  where  they  could 
maintain  in  its  integrity  the  form  of  worship  to 
which  they  were  attached,  and  preserve,  at  the 
same  time,  the  morals  of  theu'  children  from  cor- 


1620.]        I  THE. PURITANS.  ^3 

ruption.  At  first  they  thonglit  of  settling  in 
Guiana,  but  preferring  a  country  where  their  own 
language  was  spoken,  they  sent  Robert  Cushman 
and  John  Carver  to  England  to  treat  with  the 
Virginia  Company  for  a  place  of  settlement. 
Failing  to  obtain  from  the  king  a  guaratiitee  of 
I^rotection  in  their  religious  principles,  the  ne- 
gotiation languished.  It  was,  however,  subse- 
quently renewed,  and  in  1619  a  patent  was 
obtained  in  the  name  of  John  Wincob  for  the 
northern  parts  of  Virginia ;  but  owing  to  the  de- 
tention of  the  latter  in  England,  this  patent  was 
never  used. 

The  establishment  of  a  colony  in  America  hav- 
ing been  decided  upon,  a  pai't  of  the  Leyden  con- 
gregation, under  the  guidance  of  Elder  Brewster, 
left  Delfthaven,  in  a  small  vessel  called  the 
Speedwell,  toward  the  close  of  June,  1620,  and 
crossing  over  to  Southampton,  were  there  joined 
by  the  Mayflower,  an  English  ship  freighted  with 
their  provisions  and  outfit.  When  the  passengers 
had  been  distributed  between  the  two  ships,  they 
set  sail  on  the  5tli  of  August,  but  had  not  pro- 
ceeded far  on  their  voyage  before  the  Speedwell 
was  found  to  leak  so  badly  that  they  were  obliged 
to  retvirn  to  port  and  refit. 

On  the  21st  of  August,  the  anchors  were  again 
weighed;  but  the  Speedwell  proving  leaky  a 
second  time,  they  put  back  into  Plymouth,  and 
abandoned  the  vessel  as  unseaworthy.     The  re- 


64-  HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK.  [1621, 

maining  vessel  not  being  sufficiently  large  to 
accommodate  the  whole  of  the  company,  a  portion 
of  them  were  now  left  behind.  The  others  em- 
barked on  board  the  Mayflower,  and  on  the  6th 
of  September  the  voyage  was  resumed. 

After  a  rough  and  tedious  passage,  which  lasted 
nine  we<sks,  the  Mayflower  entered,  on  the  9th  of 
November,  the  harbom*  of  Cape  Cod.  Finding 
they  had  arrived  at  a  part  of  the  continent  which 
was  not  embraced  within  the  limits  of  their  patent, 
they  concluded  before  landing  to  form  themselves 
into  a  government  distinct  from  that  of  Virginia. 
When  they  had  drawn  up  and  signed  a  written 
contract,  by  which  they  mutually  agreed  to  yield 
obedience  to  all  just  laws  and  ordinances  as  should 
be  thought  most  proper  and  convenient  for  the 
general  good  of  the  colony,  they  chose  John  Car- 
ver for  their  first  governor,  and  immediately 
afterward  sent  out  exploring  parties  to  examine 
the  face  of  the  country,  and  to  select  a  fit  place 
to  establish  a  settlement. 

After  coasting  about  for  nearly  five  weeks,  they 
at  length  fell  in  with  the  harbour  of  Plymouth ; 
and  on  the  11th  of  December,  1621,  Governor 
Carver  went  ashore,  attended  by  several  of  the 
principal  immigrants.  Finding  the  situation  bet- 
ter suited  to  their  purposes  than  any  they  had  yet 
seen,  the  whole  of  the  company,  one  hundred  and 
one  in  number,  were  disembarked,  and  commenced 
erecting  soon  after,  of-  timbers  hewn  from  the 


1623.]  TWO   NEW    FORTS   BUILT.  55 

living  trees  of  tlie  adjacent  forest,  the  first  houses 
built  in  the  town  of  New  Plymouth. 

While  this  little  colony  was  struggling  with 
privations  under  which  one-half  of  their  number 
prematurely  perished,  a  great  change  was  taking 
place  in  the  commercial  relations  of  the  Dutch 
with  the  North  American  continent.  Tlie  Am- 
sterdam licensed  trading  company,  which  had 
hitherto  enjoyed  a  monopoly  of  this  lucrative 
traffic,  was  superseded  by  a  great  national  asso- 
ciation, which,  under  the  title  of  the  Dutch  West 
India  Company,  was  incorporated  with  exclusive 
privileges  of  trade  and  settlement. 

To  that  portion  of  the  continent  embraced  be- 
tween the  Delaware  Bay  and  Cape  Cod,  was  now 
given  the  name  of  New  Netherland.  In  1623, 
the  first  ship  sent  out  by  the  new  company  ar- 
rived in  the  North  River,  and  dm'ing  the  same 
year  two  new  forts  were  built ;  one  called  Fort 
Nassau,  on  the  Delaware  River,  and  the  other 
Fort  Orange,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson, 
where  the  town  of  Albany  now  stands. 

In  1624,  Peter  Minuits  arrived  at  Manhattan 
Island,  as  Director  or  Commercial  Governor  of 
New  Netherland.  He  brought  with  him  in  two 
vessels  a  number  of  Walloons,  or  French  Protest- 
ants, so  called  from  their  ancestors  having  fled 
from  religious  intolerance  in  their  own  country, 
and  settled  upon  the  banks  of  the  river  Waal,  in 
Guelderland.     These  Walloons,  the  first  perma- 


66.        HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.      [1624. 

nent  colonists  of  New  Netherland,  established 
tliemsclves  on  Long  Island,  at  "Walle-Bocht,  or 
Foreigners'  Bay,  now  called  Wallabout. 

During  the  six  years  that  Minuits  was  gover- 
nor of  New  Netherland,  he  was  actively  engaged 
in  extending  the  commercial  operations  of  the 
company ;  but  although  the  territory  over  which 
he  claimed  jui'isdiction  was  recognised  as  a  "de- 
lightful land,  full  of  fine  trees  and  vines,"  its 
colonization  proceeded  slowly,  until  some  of  the 
directors,  among  the  most  prominent  of  whom 
were  John  De  Laet  and  Kilian  Van  Renselaer, 
formed  an  association  for  that  especial  purpose. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  quantity  of  furs  exported 
by  the  vessels  of  the  company  had  been  doubled 
within  the  first  four  years.  The  trade  with  the 
natives  extended  northward  to  Quebec,  Fort 
Orange  constituting  the  chief  mart  for  the  interior 
of  the  province.  A  coasting  trade  was  also  car- 
ried on  by  small  vessels,  which  gradually  extended 
itself  from  Cape  May  to  Cape  Malabar. 

Six  years  after  the  settlement  of  New  Ply- 
mouth, Governor  Minuits  attempted,  for  the  first 
time,  to  open  commercial  relations  with  that  co- 
lony. Letters  were  accordingly  written  to  the 
people  of  New  Plymouth,  congratulating  them 
upon  the  success  which  had  attended  their  efibrts 
to  establish  a  plantation  in  the  wilderness,  and 
offering  to  supply  them  with  any  wares  they  should 
be  pleased  to  deal  for.    The  answer  being  friendly, 


1627.]  EMBASSY  TO   PLYMOUTH.  57 

Isaac  cle  Razier,  secretary  of  New  Netherland, 
«a  person  of  a  plain  and  genteel  behaviour," 
embarked  with  great  formality  on  board  a  small 
vessel  called  the  Nassau,  attended  by  a  body- 
guard of  soldiers  and  trumpeters,  to  support  the 
dignity  of  his  mission.  Landing  on  the  north 
side  of  Cape  Cod,  he  crossed  over  to  the  southern 
shore,  where  he  met  with  a  boat  despatched  to 
receive  him  and  his  retinue,  and  crossing  the  bay, 
entered  Fort  Plymouth,  "honourably  attended 
by  a  noise  of  trumpeters." 

Meeting  with  a  welcome  reception,  he  remained 
several  days,  but  failed  in  his  efforts  to  arrange 
a  treaty  of  peace  and  commerce,  as  Governor 
Bradford  and  his  council  doubted  the  claim  of 
the  Dutch  to  the  country  they  occupied,  and 
recommended  that  so  important  a  treaty  should 
be  agreed  upon  between  their  respective  nations. 
This  expression  of  opinion  did  not,  however,  mar 
in  the  least  degree  the  good  feeling  existing  be- 
tween De  Razier  and  his  Puritan  friends.  With 
considerate  kindness  he  offered  them  the  assist- 
ance of  the  New  Netherland  troops  against  the 
French,  if  it  should  at  any  time  be  required,  and 
urged  them  to  abandon  the  barren  soil  of  Ply- 
mouth for  the  more  fertile  banks  of  the  Connec- 
ticut. 

When  he  took  his  departure,  he  was  accom- 
panied to  his  vessel  by  a  number  of  the  colonists, 
who  purchased  from  him  some  articles  of  mer- 


58  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1629. 

cliandise  for  their  own  use,  and  a  quantity  of 
seawan,  or  Indian  shell  money,  to  exchange  Avith 
the  natives  for  peltry  and  provisions. 

In  1G29,  a  scheme  of  colonization  Tvas  drawn 
up  by  the  directors  of  the  Dutch  West  India 
Company,  and  ratified  soon  after  by  the  States 
General.  Under  this  charter  of  liberties  and  ex- 
emptions, any  person  who  within  the  space  of  four 
years  established  in  New  Netherland,  at  his  own 
expense,  a  colony  of  fifty  persons,  acquired  the 
right  to  purchase  from  the  Indians  an  extent  of 
territory  stretching  sixteen  miles  along  one  side 
of  a  navigable  river,  or  eight  miles  on  each  bank, 
running  as  far  inland  as  he  thought  proper.  The 
land  thus  bought  and  settled,  he  was  entitled  to 
hold  as  absolute  proprietor,  with  the  honourable 
appellation  of  Patroon,  or  Lord  of  the  Manor. 
All  other  persons  willing  to  emigrate  on  their 
own  account,  were  at  liberty  to  take  up  as  much 
land  as  they  had  the  ability  properly  to  improve. 
The  company  reserved  to  itself  the  trade  in  furs, 
and  the  possession  of  the  island  of  Manhattan, 
promising  to  complete  the  fort  without  delay,  and 
to  supply  the  colonists  with  negro  slaves;  but 
binding  themselves  to  do  so  no  longer  than  the 
traffic  might  be  found  convenient  or  lucrative. 

This  charter  of  privileges  was  no  sooner  pro- 
mulgated, than  several  of  the  du'ectors  of  the 
company  bestirred  themselves  to  take  advantage 
of  its  provisions.      Two  of  them,   Godyn   and 


1630.]      RENSELAERWYK  AND   PAVONIA.  ^9 

Bloemart^  in  anticipation  of  its  passage,  had 
already  commissioned  tlieir  agents  in  America  to 
purchase  from  the  natives  the  tract  of  land  ex- 
tending from  Cape  Henlopen  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Delaware,  a  distance  of  thirty-two  miles.  In 
May,  1630,  they  made  a  second  purchase  of  the 
country  around  and  including  Cape  May,  sixteen 
miles  in  length,  and  the  same  in  breadth,  from 
the  Indian  owners  of  that  territory.  These  two 
tracts  received  the  name  of  Swanandael,  or  the 
Valley  of  Swans. 

In  April,  the  agent  of  Kilian  Van  Renselaer, 
in  consideration  of  certain  cargoes  or  parcels  of 
goods,  purchased  the  lands  on  both  sides  of  the 
Hudson  River,  above  and  below  Fort  Orange, 
subsequently  known  as  Renselaerwyk.  This 
territory,  with  additions  made  a  few  years 
afterward,  was  twenty-four  miles  in  length  and 
forty-eight  in  breadth,  and  included  the  present 
counties  of  Albany  and  Renselaer,  with  a  part  of 
Columbia.  During  the  months  of  June  and  July 
of  this  year,  Pauw,  another  of  the  directors,  ob- 
tained in  a  similar  manner  a  grant  of  Hoboken 
and  Staten  Island,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 
Pavonia. 

Companies  were  soon  after  formed  for  the 
speedy  settlement  of  these  manors.  De  Vries,  one 
of  the  owners  under  Godyn's  patent,  established 
a  colony  of  thirty  persons  at  Swanandael,  or  Val- 
ley of  Swans,  a  short  distance  from  Cape  Hen- 


60  HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK.  [1631. 

lopen,  at  a  place  called  Hoarkill,  no-w  known  as 
Lewistown.  A  number  of  emigrants,  sufficient 
to  make  good  the  titles  of  the  patroons,  were  also 
settled  at  Pavonia  and  Renselaerwyk. 

After  remaining  a  year  in  the  country,  De 
Vries  returned  to  Holland  for  supplies,  leaving 
his  colonists  to  the  care  of  Gillis  Osset,  a  rash 
and  ignorant  man,  who,  instead  of  endeavouring 
to  conciliate  the  affection  of  the  surrounding  In- 
dians, quarrelled  with  them  because  one  of  their 
chiefs  had  innocently  appropriated  to  his  own 
use  a  tin-plate  stamped  with  the  arms  of  Holland, 
which  had  been  affixed  to  a  post  in  Swanandael, 
as  a  sign  of  sovereignty.  Finding  the  offence 
regarded  as  serious,  the  Indians  cut  off  the  head 
of  the  chief  who  had  committed  it,  and  brought 
a  token  of  the  deed  to  Osset. 

Grieved  that  his  intemperate  speech  should 
have  led  to  so  sanguinary  a  result,  the  Dutch 
commander  told  the  messenger  they  had  done 
wrong,  and  that  a  simple  reprim&nd  would  have 
been  all-sufficient.  The  friends  of  the  murdered 
chief,  attributing  his  death  to  the  clamour  raised 
bv  Osset,  now  concerted  together  to  avenge  them- 
selves  upon  all  the  colonists.  While  the  latter, 
thirty-two  in  number,  were  engaged  in  the  fields 
attending  to  the  cultivation  of  their  tobacco  and 
grain,  the  commander  Osset  and  a  single  sentinel 
remained  in  charge  of  the  palisaded  fort,  where 
the   settlers    all   lived  together.     Accordingly, 


1632.]  SUDDEN   MASSACRE.  ^1 

the  Indians,  having  assembled  to  carry  out  their 
purpose,  sent  three  of  their  warriors  to  the  fort, 
as  if  for  purposes  of  trade.  Bearing  in  their 
arms  parcels  of  beaver  skins,  they  passed  the 
sentinel,  and  cautiously  avoiding  a  large  bull-dog 
which  was  chained  outside  of  the  house,  they  ap- 
proached the  commander,  who  stood  near  the 
door,  and  with  smiling  countenances  offered  to 
barter  their  furs  for  merchandise.  A  bargain 
having  been  struck,  Osset  proceeded  to  the  garret 
where  the  public  stores  were  deposited,  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  the  commodities  agreed 
upon.  AVhile  he  was  absent,  the  Indians  stationed 
themselves  near  the  staircase,  and  awaited  im- 
patiently his  reappearance.  The  moment  he 
descended,  one  of  them  cleft  his  head  with  a 
tomahawk,  and  he  fell  dead  on  the  floor.  The 
sentinel  and  the  dog  were  next  despatched ;  the 
latter,  of  whom  they  stood  in  great  terror,  being 
shot  at  from  a  distance,  until  he  was  pierced 
through  and  through  with  more  than  a  score  of 
arrows.  Possession  of  the  fort  having  been  thus 
obtained,  they  now  arranged  their  plans  for  the 
murder  of  the  colonists  at  work  in  the  fields. 
Collecting  together  into  one  body,  they  advanced 
leisurely  toward  their  victims,  whom  they  ap- 
proached with  an  air  of  idle  curiosity,  as  if  desirous 
of  witnessing  them  at  then-  labours.  Watching 
their  opportunity,  they  fell  upon  the  workmen 
suddenly,  and,  by  a  simultaneous  movement,  mas- 
6 


62  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1632. 

sacred  the  -whole  of  them.  The  fort  was  imme- 
diately destroyed,  the  palisades  torn  up,  and 
the  southern  shore  of  the  Delaware  Bay  was  once 
more  in  complete  possession  of  the  natives. 

On  returning  from  Holland  with  additional 
immigrants  in  December,  De  Vries,  entering  the- 
bay  where  he  had  left  in  peaceful  security  his  in- 
dustrious settlers,  found  nothing  but  silence  and 
desolation.  Ascending  the  creek  in  his  boat,  he 
found  the  valley  beyond  strewed  with  the  remains 
of  his  murdered  countrymen.  A  few  Indians 
making  their  appearance  at  a  distance,  he  greeted 
them  with  words  of  peace,  but  it  was  not  without 
hesitancy  that  they  advanced  to  meet  him.  De- 
sirous of  recovering  their  friendship,  De  Vries 
distributed  some  presents  among  them,  and  formed 
a  treaty  of  peace  and  reconciliation.  Disembark- 
ing the  few  settlers  he  had  brought  with  him,  he 
sailed  up  the  river  to  trade  with  the  natives  for 
supplies.  Fort  Nassau,  built  upon  Timber  Creek, 
near  Camden,  which  had  been  some  time  before 
deserted  by  its  garrison,  he  found  filled  with  In- 
dians, of  whose  sanguinary  intentions*  he  was 
providentially  forewarned.  A  large  number  of 
them  entered  his  boat,  some  playing  on  reeds, 
and  others  bearing  beaver  skins  for  sale.  Af- 
ter startling  them  by  avowing  his  knowledge 
of  their  intentions,  he  compelled  them  to  return 
to  shore,  under  threats  of  being  fired  on  if  they 
resisted.     When  they  had  reluctantly  obeyed  his 


1633.]  WOUTER   VAN   TWILLER.  63 

orders,  sixteen  of  their  chiefs  formed  a  circle  on 
the  bank,  and  declared  themselves  disposed  to  be 
friendly.  From  motives  of  policy  he  concluded 
a  treaty  of  peace  with  them,  and  accepting  at 
their  hands  the  presents  customai'y  on  such  occa- 
sions, offered  them  others  in  retm-n.  These,  how- 
ever, they  refused  to  take,  stating  coldly  that  they 
did  not  bestow  gifts  for  the  pm-pose  of  receiving 
others. 

Failing  to  obtain  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware 
the  provisions  he  required,  he  sailed  to  Virginia, 
where  he  was  not  only  furnished  with  supplies, 
but  received  from  the  governor  six  goats,  which 
he  took  with  him  to  New  Amsterdam.  They 
constituted  the  first  live  stock  owned  by  the  colo- 
nists of  Manhattan. 

The  administration  of  Governor  Minuits  not 
proving  satisfactory  to  the  Dutch  West  India 
Company,  he  was  removed  from  his  office  in  the 
spring  of  1633,  and  Wouter  Van  Twiller  appoint- 
ed director-general  in  his  place.  This  new  officer 
had  just  arrived,  and  by  him  De  Vries  was  wel- 
comed to  the  fort,  and  hospitably  entertained 
during  the  remainder  of  his  stay. 

Under  the  government  of  Van  Twiller,  new 
trading-posts  were  established,  to  meet  the  in- 
creasing traffic  with  the  Indians.  A  profitable 
trade  in  furs  springing  up  with  the  Pequods  and 
their  neighbours  upon  the  Connecticut  River,  led 
to  the  purchase  of  land  from  the  former,  and  the 


64  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1634. 

erection  of  a  fortified  post  called  the  House  of 
Good  Hope,  not  far  from  the  present  city  of 
Hartford. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  colony  of  Plymouth 
having  received  large  accessions  of  immigrants 
from  abroad,  a  commercial  rivalry  between  the 
latter  and  the  Dutch  was  gradually  undermining 
the  good  feeling  which  had  hitherto  existed  be- 
tween them.  Winthrop,  the  governor  of  the  new 
colony  settled  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  protested 
against  the  occupation  of  the  Connecticut  by  the 
Dutch,  on  the  ground  that  the  King  of  England 
had  already  granted  it  to  certain  of  his  subjects. 
Van  Twiller,  in  reply,  deprecated  any  contention 
about  "a  little  part  or  portion  of  these  heathenish 
countries,"  and  proposed  to  refer  the  dispute  for 
settlement  to  their  respective  governments. 

The  colony  of  New  Plymouth  now  took  up  the 
matter,  and  proceeded  to  assert  a  right  to  the 
territory  in  question  by  building  a  trading-house 
at  Windsor,  a  short  distance  above  the  post  erected 
a  few  months  previous  by  Van  Twiller. 

Indignant  at  this  contemptuous  defiance  of  his 
authority,  the  latter  immediately  despatched  a 
force  of  seventy  soldiers  to  break  up  the  English 
establishment;  but  as  the  Pui'itans  evinced  a 
sturdy  determination  to  defend  their  new  posses- 
sion, the  Dutch  commander  very  prudently  re- 
called his  troops,  and  contented  himself  with 
issuing  a  vigorous  protest. 


1634.]  IMPROVEMENTS.  65 

Finding  his  English  neighbours  obstinately 
bent  on  appropriating  to  themselves  the  rich 
meadows  of  the  Connecticut,  Van  Twiller  busied 
himself  in  strengthening  and  improving  New 
Amsterdam.  During  the  year  1634,  he  rebuilt 
the  fort,  erected  barracks  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  garrison,  constructed  a  church  and  par- 
sonage-house, together  with  various  windmills 
and  dwellings  for  the  use  of  the  colonists,  and 
opened  several  farms,  or  boweries,  in  the  interior 
of  the  island.  But  this  sudden  display  of  energy 
soon  subsided,  and,  while  seeking  to  aggrandize 
himself,  he  gradually  suffered  the  affairs  of  the 
company  to  fall  into  neglect. 

In  the  mean  time,  a  quarrel  had  been  progress- 
ing between  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  and 
the  patroons,  or  large  proprietaries;  the  former 
contending  for  a  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade,  while 
the  latter  claimed  the  exclusive  right  of  traffic 
within  the  limits  of  their  own  territories.  The 
company  finally  put  an  end  to  the  dispute  by  re- 
purchasing the  Swanandael  lands  belonging  to 
De  Vries  and  others,  and  by  resuming  theu"  au- 
thority over  Hoboken  and  Staten  Island.  The 
manors  of  Pavonia  and  Swanandael  being  thus 
abolished,  that  of  Renselaerwyk  alone  remained. 

But  while  the  Dutch  were  thus  busily  employed 
with  their  commercial  adventures,  large  numbers 
of  immigrants  were  flocking  into  the  New  Eng- 
land colonies,  and  encroaching  upon  the  territory 

6* 


66  HISTORY    OF   NEW   YORK.  [1638. 

of  Xew  Netlierlancl.  The  trading-post  established 
by  Van  Twiller  on  the  Connecticut  still  remained 
in  the  charge  of  his  officers;  but  the  country 
around  it  was  fast  settling  by  the  English.  In 
1634,  the  latter  built  a  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river ;  and  the  following  year  the  congregation  of 
Mr.  Hooper,  one  hundred  in  number,  settled 
upon  its  western  bank,  and  in  the  vicinity  of 
Van  Twiller's  house  of  Good  Hope,  founded  the 
town  of  Hartford. 

The  administration  of  Van  Twiller  not  proving 
satisfactory  to  the  company,  he  was  superseded 
in  1638  by  William  Keift,  who  immediately  went 
to  work  with  great  energy  to  remedy  the  disorder 
into  which  the  affairs  of  the  province  had  fallen. 


1638.]  GOVERNOR   KIEFT.  67 


CHAPTER  V. 

Difficulties  of  Governor  Kieft — Delaware  settled  by  the  Swedes 
• — Arrival  of  Minuits — Fort  built  on  Christiana  Creek — Ac- 
tion of  Dutch  West  India  Company — Occupation  of  Long 
Island  by  the  Puritans — Fort  Nassau  reoccupied — Indian 
disturbances — A  retaliatory  murder — Kieft  demands  the  fu- 
gitive— Preparations  for  war — Failure  of  the  first  expedition 
against  the  Raritans — Trouble  with  the  Hackensacks — Two 
Hollanders  murdered — Indemnity  offered  and  refused — Mas- 
sacre of  the  Raritans  and  Hackensacks — Confederation  of  the 
river  tribes — Indian  war — Deplorable  condition  of  the  Dutch 
— Long  Island  and  Manhattan  devastated — Unpopularity  of 
Kieft — Attempt  upon  his  life — Negotiations  for  peace — 
Speech  of  an  Indian  chief — Renewal  of  the  war — Expedi- 
tions of  Underbill — Destruction  of  Indians  at  Tappan  and  on 
Long  Island — Interposition  of  the  Mohawks — Treaty  of 
peace. 

Kieft  had  scarcely  assumed  the  government 
of  New  Netherland  before  he  found  himself  in- 
volved in  a  perfect  network  of  difficulties.  While'^ 
the  encroachments  of  the  English  at  the  north  * 
were  rapidly  contracting  the  limits  of  the  Dutch 
claims  in  that  direction,  the  Swedes  had  made 
their  appearance  on  the  Delaware,  and  were  ex- 
ercising an  independent  authority  over  that  re- 
gion. 

This  new  colony  owed  its  existence  to  Minuits. 
Indignant  at  having  been  superseded  by  Van 
T wilier,. Minuits  sailed  to  Sweden,  and  proposed 


68  HISTORY   OF   KEW   YORK.  [16-38. 

to  Oxensteirn,  the  celebrated  minister  of  Queen 
Christina,  the  settlement  of  a  colony  on  the  shores 
of  the  Delaware.  His  services  were  promptly 
accepted.  Two  vessels,  the  Key  of  Calmar  and 
the  Griffin,  were  placed  under  his  orders.  Leaving 
Sweden  toward  the  close  of  the  year  1637,  he 
touched  at  Virginia  for  wood  and  water,  and  then 
proceeding  to  the  Delaware,  sailed  up  the  river, 
purchased  from  the  Indians  the  lands  on  the 
western  shore  of  the  bay,  from  the  southern  cape 
to  the  falls  near  Trenton,  and,  building  a  fort 
near  the  mouth  of  Christiana  Creek,  there  planted 
his  little  colony  early  in  the  spring  of  1638. 
Kcift  immediately  issued  a  series  of  sharp  pro- 
tests against  the  occupation  of  the  territory  by 
the  Swedes ;  but  as  Minuits  paid  no  heed  to  his 
remonstrances,  he  hesitated  to  resort  to  forcible 
measures,  until  he  had  first  advised  with  his  em- 
ployers. 

But  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  had  the 
sagacity  to  foresee  that  a  state  of  hostilities  with 
the  English  and  the  Swedes  was  by  no  means 
calculated  to  benefit  their  American  trade,  and 
that  the  only  way  whereby  they  could  hope  to 
compete  with  their  new  rivals  was  to  encourage 
the  growth  of  New  Netherland  by  ofi'ering  addi- 
tional advantages  to  actual  settlers.  This  was 
done ;  and  under  the  more  liberal  provisions  of 
the  new  charter  of  privileges,  a  large  number  of 
immigrants  arrived  at  New  Amsterdam.      The 


1642.]  PURITAN   ENCROACHMENTS.  69 

colony  "was  furtlier  increased  by  persons  from 
Virginia  and  New  England. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  English  had  settled  New 
Haven,  and  farms  were  springing  up  all  about 
the  Dutch  trading-post  on  the  Connecticut,  until 
the  lands  around  it  were  restricted  to  thirty  acres. 
Long  Island  was  also  occupied  under  a  grant 
from  Lord  Stirling ;  the  arms  of  the  Dutch  torn 
down  from  the  tree  to  which  they  had  been  affixed, 
and,  in  bravado,  a  roughly- carved  fool's-head  was 
set  up  in  their  place. 

But  this  insult  was  too  flagrant  to  be  suff"ered 
to  pass  without  punishment.  The  intruders  were 
taken  prisoners  by  a  party  of  Dutch  troops,  and 
were  not  released  until  they'  had  humbly  apolo- 
gized for  their  oifence,  and  promised  to  quit  the 
territory.  They  did  not,  however,  leave  the  island, 
but,  retiring  to  its  eastern  end,  founded  the  town 
of  Southampton.  Another  company  of  Puritans 
landed  on  the  island  in  1641,  and  settled  the  vil- 
lage of  Southold.  Against  these  encroachments, 
Kieft,  a  passionate,  headstrong  man,  complained 
bitterly,  but  failed  of  obtaining  any  redress.  In 
despite  of  all  his  protests,  settlers  from  Connec- 
ticut spread  themselves  more  and  more  over  the 
territory  of  New  Netherland  during  the  year 
1642 ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  numerous  families 
of  Swedes  and  Fins  established  themselves  along 
the  shores  of  the  Delaware.  But  though  the 
Dutch  asserted  their  right  to  the  country  by  re- 


70  HISTOKY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1642. 

occupying  Fort  Nassau,  Printz,  the  new  Swedish 
governor,  garrisoned  a  similar  work  on  Tinicum 
Island,  a  few  miles  below,  as  a  place  of  residence 
for  himself,  and  a  protection  to  the  settlers  in  its 
vicinity. 

At  any  other  period,  it  is  possible  that  the 
possession  of  either  shore  of  the  Delaware  might 
have  been  disputed  by  the  Dutch  governor  of 
New  Netherland ;  but  when  those  settlements  took 
place,  Kieft  was  too  busily  engaged  in  another 
quarter,  to  show  his  resentment  in  any  manner 
more  forcible  than  words.  Indian  disturbances 
had  broken  out.  An  Indian  of  the  Raritan  tribe, 
having  witnessed  during  his  boyhood  the  rob- 
bery and  murder  of  his  uncle  by  one  of  the  ser- 
vants of  Minuits,  had  nui-sed  a  desire  to  revenge 
his  kinsman's  death  as  soon  as  he  was  grown  up. 
In  1641,  he  fulfilled  his  vow  of  retaliation  by 
killing  an  old  Dutchman.  Kieft  immediately  de- 
manded that  the  assassin  should  be  given  up ;  but 
his  people  refused  to  surrender  him,  and  justified 
the  act. 

In  this  emergency,  Kieft  summoned  a  meeting 
of  the  principal  citizens  and  farmers,  to  take  the 
subject  into  consideration.  They  chose  twelve 
of  their  number  to  advise  with  the  governor ;  but 
as  the  board,  thus  popularly  appointed,  com- 
menced an  active  inquiry  into  existing  abuses, 
Kieft  speedily  dissolved  it,  as  infringing  upon  his 
authority.   A  detachment  of  eighty  men  was  sent 


1642.]  INDIAN   TROUBLES.  71 

against  the  Raritans ;  but  the  guide  lost  his  way, 
and  the  expedition  came  to  nothing.  De  Vries 
and  other  moderate  men  counselled  a  more  pa- 
cific policy;  and  the  Indians  themselves,  finding 
they  were  threatened  with  hostilities,  evinced  a 
disposition  to  conciliate  matters,  by  offering  to 
surrender  the  murderer.  Unfortunately,  while 
the  adjustment  of  this  affair  was  pending,  a 
Hackensack  Indian,  the  son  of  a  chief  of  that 
tribe,  who  had  been  made  drunk  and  then  robbed 
by  the  Dutch,  revenged  himself  by  shooting  down 
the  first  two  white  men  he  chanced  to  meet. 

Desirous  of  making  immediate  atonement,  a 
deputation  of  chiefs  waited  on  Kicft,  and  offered 
two  hundred  fathom  of  wampum  as  an  indemnity 
for  the  crime.  The  wampum  was  refused,  and  a 
peremptory  demand  made  for  the  murderer.  The 
chieftains  declined  to  surrender  him.  "  You 
yourselves,"  said  they,  "  are  the  cause  of  this 
evil.  You  ought  not  to  craze  the  young  Indians 
with  brandy.  Your  own  people,  when  drunk, 
fight  with  knives  and  do  foolish  things  ;  and  you 
cannot  prevent  mischief  till  you  cease  to  sell 
strong  drink  to  the  Indian." 

Notwithstanding  the  obvious  truth  of  this  re- 
monstrance, Kieft  would  listen  to  no  terms  of 
accommodation  that  did  not  include  the  surrender 
of  the  fugitive.  The  chiefs  were  equally  inflexi- 
ble in  shielding  him.  While  the  anger  of  the 
Dutch  governor  was  at  its  height,  his  allies,  the 


72  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1643. 

Mohawks,  descended  upon  the  Raritans,  and 
forced  them  to  throw  themselves  upon  the  mercy 
of  the  Dutch.  Then'  forlorn  condition  awakening 
a  feeling  of  pity,  some  of  the  more  compassionate 
of  the  colonists  supplied  them  with  food.  Fearing 
to  return  to  their  former  homes  in  the  vicinity 
of  Tappan,  the  fugitives  took  shelter  among  the 
Hackensacks.  The  two  tribes  most  obnoxious  to 
the  Dutch  being  thus  brought  near  to  each  other, 
the  war  party  among  the  colonists  determined 
upon  their  massacre ;  and,  in  defiance  of  the  re- 
monstrances of  De  Vries  and  many  of  the  most 
influential  inhabitants  of  New  Amsterdam,  prepa- 
rations were  at  once  made  to  carry  their  san- 
guinary purpose  into  effect. 

Acting  under  the  authority  of  the  passionate 
and  overbearing  governor,  two  armed  parties, 
composed  respectively  of  troops  and  volunteers, 
crossed  the  Hudson  on  the  night  of  the  25th  of 
February,  1643,  and  fell  suddenly  upon  the  In- 
dian encampments.  Taken  entirely  by  surprise, 
scarcely  any  resistance  was  offered;  and  in  the 
stillness  of  the  night,  the  noise  of  the  musketry 
and  the  shrieks  of  the  victims  could  be  distinctly 
heard  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  island  of  Man- 
hattan. *  No  mercy  was  shown.  Men,  women, 
children,  all  were  indiscriminately  slaughtered. 
Infants  bound  in  their  bark  cradles  were  flung 
into  the  icy  river ;  and  the  poor  frantic  mothers, 
wlio  had  plunged  into  the  water  to  their  rescue. 


1643.]  FEARFUL   RETALIATION.  75 

were  mercilessly  forced  back  from  the  shore 
until  they  were  drowned.  This  fearful  massacre 
continued  throughout  the  following  day.  The 
wounded,  who  during  the  darkness  of  the  night 
had  crawled  into  secret  hiding-places,  were  hunted^ 
out  and  killed  in  cold  blood.  Nearly  a  hundred 
Indians,  of  all  ages,  perished  in  this  barbarous 
onslaught,  and  some  thirty  others  were  taken  pri- 
soners to  New  Amsterdam. 

But  the  triumph  of  the  Dutch  was  only  tem- 
porary. All  the  tribes  around  Manhattan  made 
common  cause  with  the  Raritans  and  Hacken- 
sacks,  and  commenced  a  war  of  retaliation.  In 
every  direction  plantations  were  destroyed,  vil- 
lages burned,  the  men  and  women  murdered,  and 
the  helpless  children  hurried  away  into  captivity. 
The  settlements  on  Long  Island  were  laid  deso- 
late. Those  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Sound 
shared  the  same  fate.  Ruin  and  despair  stared 
the  harassed  colonists  in  the  face.  Many  sought 
safety  in  flying  from  the  country.  "Mine  eyes," 
says  Roger  Williams,  "  saw  the  flames  of  their 
towns,  the  frights  and  hurries  of  men,  women,  and 
children,  and  the  present  removal  of  all  that 
could  to  Holland." 

The  fury  of  Kieft  was  succeeded  by  terror  and 
remorse.  He  was  charged  with  having  been  the 
cause  of  the  massacre.  He  threw  the  blame  on 
Adriansen,  an  old  freebooter,  who  had  headed 
the  ferocious  attack  on  the  Raritans.    Rendered 


74  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1643. 

furious  by  this  accusation,  Adriansen,  armed  with 
cutlass  and  pistol,  attempted  the  life  of  the  gover- 
nor. His  assault  being  frustrated,  he  was  seized 
and  sent  a  prisoner  to  Holland.  In  this  fearful 
state  of  things,  all  the  colonists  were  enrolled 
into  service,  and  a  day  was  set  apart  for  a  solemn 
fast. 

Happily,  the  vengeance  of  the  combined  tribes 
was  satiated.  Offers  of  peace  were  made  and  ac- 
cepted. A  deputation,  led  by  De  Vries,  met  the 
principal  chiefs  of  Long  Island  at  Rockaway,  on 
the  5th  of  March,  1643.  In  the  council  which 
was  held  soon  after  their  arrival,  one  of  the  chiefs 
arose,  bearing  in  his  hand  a  bundle  of  small 
sticks.  Addressing  himself  to  De  Vries  and  his 
companions,  he  said: — 

"When  you  first  arrived  on  our  shores,  you 
were  destitute  of  food ;  we  gave  you  our  beans 
and  our  corn ;  we  fed  you  with  oysters  and  fish ; 
and  now,  for  our  recompense,  you  murder  our 
people."  Here  the  chief  put  down  one  little 
stick.  Having  thus  indicated  that  this  was  his 
first  accusation,  he  continued : — 

"  The  traders  whom  your  first  ships  left  upon  our 
shore  to  traffic  till  their  return,  were  cherished 
by  us  as  the  apple  of  om'  eye ;  we  gave  them  our 
daughters  for  their  wives ;  among  those  whom 
you  have  murdered  were  children  of  yom*  own 
blood."  This  closed  the  orator's  second  charge, 
and  he  laid  down  another  stick.     Many  other 


1643.]  HOSTILITIES   RENEWED.  75 

complaints  of  a  similar  natm-e  remained  behind, 
as  was  shown  by  the  number  of  sticks  which  he 
still  held  in  his  hand. 

A  truce  was  at  length  agreed  upon,  to  which 
the  river  tribes  assented  soon  after;  but  it  was 
•  only  of  brief  duration.  Their  wrongs  had  been 
too  great  for  the  Indians  to  settle  down  quietly, 
and  the  presents  they  received  as  an  equivalent 
for  the  damage  they  had  sustained  bore  no  pro- 
portion to  the  losses  they  had  incurred.  '<  The 
price  of  blood  has  not  been  paid,"  said  an  old 
chief  sadly,  and  the  war  broke  out  anew. 

In  September,  the  confederated  tribes  recom- 
menced their  devastations  upon  the  frontier  settle- 
ments, and  Kieft  was  again  compelled  to  call 
upon  the  colonists  for  assistance  and  advice.  A 
board  of  eight  men  were  appointed  by  the  popu- 
lar voice  to  consult  with  and  aid  the  governor  in 
the  conduct  of  the  war.  John  Underbill,  an 
English  soldier,  who  had  already  distinguished 
himself  by  his  bravery  in  the  Pequod  war  of  New 
England,  was  chosen  to  command  the  Dutch 
troops. 

Never  were  energetic  measures  more  im- 
peratively needed.  Nearly  all  the  settlements 
upon  Long  Island  were  deserted  and  de- 
stroyed; and  of  the  plantations  upon  Manhattan 
Island,  only  three  remained.  The  distressed 
colonists,  flying  before  the  fury  of  the  savages, 
were  now  huddled  around  the  fort  at  New  Am- 


76         HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.      [1044, 

sterdam,  where,  half  famished  for  want  of  pro- 
visions, and  in  daily  fear  of  an  attack,  which  they 
felt  themselves  incompetent  to  successfully  resist 
they  dragged  out  for  nearly  two  years  a  misera 
hie  and  precarious  existence.  Fearful  of  beinj. 
utterly  exterminated,  they  applied  for  assistance 
to  the  colonists  of  Connecticut,  and  to  the  Dutch 
West  India  Company.  But  the  former  were  un- 
willino;  to  embroil  themselves  with  their  savage 
neighbours ;  and  the  latter,  having  suffered  serious 
military  disasters  in  the  Brazils,  was  unable  tc 
afford  any  relief. 

Underbill  and  his  subordinates  were,  however 
actively  engaged  to  the  best  of  their  ability.  Thi 
Indian  villages  on  Long  Island  were  attacked 
with  partial  success.  The  natives  of  Tappan 
were  harassed,  their  corn  destroyed,  and  their 
forts  burned  to  the  ground.  Two  other  expedi- 
tions to  Long  Island,  in  16-44,  were  still  more 
effective.  In  the  first,  one  hundred  Indians  were 
killed,  and  several  taken  prisoners  to  New  Am- 
sterdam. In  the  second.  Underbill,  with  one 
hundred  and  twenty  men,  made  a  sudden  descent 
upon  a  large  Indian  town,  and  falling  upon  the 
inhabitants  while  they  were  celebrating  one  of 
their  annual  festivals,  slew  five  hundred  of  them, 
and  set  fire  to  their  wigwams. 

By  these  fierce  but  energetic  measures,  the 
spirit  of  the  confederacy  was  subdued.  Several 
of  the  tribes  solicited  peace,  but  others  still  reso- 


1645.]        TREATY  OF  PEACE.  77 

lutely  held  out.  A  reinforcement  of  Dutch  troops 
from  Curacoa,  arriving  in  June,  1645,  placed 
the  colonists  of  New  Netherland  in  a  better  con- 
dition to  carry  on  the  war.  The  Mohawks  at 
length  interposed.  They  sent  an  envoy  to  Man- 
hattan, to  use  his  influence  in  favour  of  a  peace. 
The  overtures  were  successful.  On  the  30th  of 
August,  1645,  delegates  from  the  hostile  tribes 
met  in  council  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Amster- 
dam, and  by  a  solemn  treaty  put  an  end  to  a 
war  which  had  been  conducted  with  equal  ferocity 
by  both  parties. 


7* 


78  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1647. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Close  of  the  Indian  war — Unpopularity  of  Keift — His  recall  and 
shipwreck — ■Governor  Stuyvesant — Condition  of  New  Neth- 
erland — Beaverswyk — New  Amsterdam — Negotiations  with 
New  England — Provisional  treaty — War  between  England 
and  Holland — Prudent  policy  of  Massachusetts — The  Dutch 
solicit  assistance  from  the  Narragansetts — Reply  of  one  of 
their  chiefs — Swedish  settlements  on  the  Delaware — Fort 
Cassimer  erected — Contentions  with  the  Swedes — Capture 
of  Fort  Cassimer — Reduction  of  the  Swedish  province  by 
Stuyvesant — Flourishing  condition  of  New  Netherland — In- 
ternal dissensions — 'Arbitrary  rule  of  Stuyvesant — Claims  of  ' 
Maryland — Sale  of  Delaware  to  the  city  of  Amsterdam — Po- 
litical privileges  granted  by  Stuyvesant — Patent  of  Charles 
II.  to  the  Duke  of  York — English  force  sent  to  take  posses- 
sion of  New  Netherland — Surrender  of  the  province. 

The  close  of  the  Indian  war  was  celebrated 
with  great  rejoicings  by  the  harassed  colonists  of 
New  Netherland ;  but  Kieft,  who  laboured  under 
the  imputation  of  having  provoked  the  disasters 
they  had  undergone,  grcAV  daily  more  unpopular. 
His  arbitrary  temper  and  reckless  policy  pro- 
duced numerous  complaints  among  the  colonists, 
and  fostered  a  general  desire  for  his  removal. 
Fully  conscious  that  the  condition  of  antagonism 
which  existed  between  the  people  of  the  province 
and  their  governor  was  greatly  prejudicial  to  their 
commercial  interests,  the  directors  of  the  West 
India  Company  sought  to  restore  harmony  by  the 
recall  of  Kieft,  and  the  appointment  of  Peter 


1648.]  PETER    STUYVESANT.  79 

Stuyvesant  in  his  place.  At  the  same  time,  the 
few  remaining  commercial  restrictions  were 
abolished,  and  the  trade  thrown  open  to  all  com- 
petitors. 

Stuyvesant  arrived  in  the  province  during  the 
early  part  of  May,  1647,  and  in  the  fall  of  the 
same  year,  Kieft  sailed  for  Europe.  The  ship  in 
which  he  embarked,  laden  with  a  valuable  cargo 
of  furs,  was  cast  ashore  on  the  coast  of  Wales, 
and  the  sanguinary  governor,  together  with  some 
eighty  others,  perished  in  the  waves. 

The  new  director-general,  or  governor  of  New 
Netherland,  Peter  Stuyvesant,  was  possessed  of 
many  estimable  qualities.  He  was  a  brave,  frank, 
honest,  and  tolerably  well-educated  soldier.  The 
commencement  of  his  rule  was  marked  by  a  more 
tolerant  policy  toward  the  neighbouring  Indians, 
though  he  soon  showed  himself  disposed  to  regard 
the  poorer  settlers  with  a  feeling  pretty  closely 
allied  to  contempt.  In  comparison  with  the 
neighbouring  English  colonies,  that  of  Man- 
hattan could  not  be  said,  up  to  this  period,  to 
have  flourished.  Its  settlement,  lucrative  as 
the  fur  trade  had  proved  itself  at  first,  had  not 
only  absorbed  the  profits  of  the  trafiic,  but  had 
cost  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  a  con- 
siderable sum  besides.  New  England  already 
contained  twenty  thousand  inhabitants;  while 
the  whole  of  the  settlers  within  the  jurisdiction 
of    New  Netherland    did    not     exceed    three 


/ 


80  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1650. 

thousand.  A  few  houses  were  clustered  about 
Fort  Orange,  or  Beaverswyk,  as  the  present 
town  of  Albany  was  then  called.  The  island 
of  Manhattan  was  still  mostly  forest  land,  many 
of  the  cleared  plantations  having  been  abandoned 
during  the  prevalence  of  the  Indian  war,  and  only 
some  five  or  six  of  them,  on  the  arrival  of  Stuyve- 
sant,  continued  to  be  successfully  worked.  New 
Amsterdam,  the  seat  of  government,  was  nothing 
but  a  mere  village  of  huts,  roughly  constructed, 
protected  by  palisades,  and  by  the  fort  of  the 
same  name,  itself  hardly  in  a  defensible  condition. 

One  of  the  first  duties  which  devolved  upon 
Governor  Stuyvesant  was  the  arrangement  of 
the  long-pending  territorial  dispute  with  New 
England.  This,  however,  was  found  to  be  a  diffi- 
culty by  no  means  easy  to  be  settled  harmoniously. 
The  Puritan  colonies  were  already  powerful,  both 
in  numbers  and  unity  of  action ;  and  they  were 
but  little  disposed  to  regard  the  protests  of  a 
weaker  neighbour,  whose  title  to  any  territory 
at  all  they  had  always  questioned.  To  war,  the 
Dutch  AVest  India  Company  were  decidedly 
averse,  both  from  the  expense  attendant  upon  its 
prosecution,  and  from  the  consciousness  that  a 
successful  prosecution  of  it  was  altogether  hope- 
less. 

Findino;  that  negotiation  from  a  distance  made 
but  slow  progress,  Stuyvesant  bent  his  pride  to 
the  occasion,  and  \isited' Hartford  in  person.    At 


1651.]  WAR    BREAKS    OUT.  81 

this  place,  on  the  11th  of  November,  1650,  he 
succeeded  in  concluding  a  provisional  treaty,  by 
which  the  New  England  commissioners  consented 
to  the  partition  of  Long  Island  between  them- 
selves and  the  Dutch,  the  boundary  between  the 
two  colonies  being  settled  to  begin  in  the  vicinity 
of  Greenwich  on  the  main,  and  to  extend  to  Oys- 
ter Bay.  The  treaty  received  the  consent  of  the 
Dutch  West  India  Company,  and  was  accepted 
by  the  States  General;  but  it  failed  of  being 
ratified  in  England. 

When  the  war  broke  out  between  England  and 
Holland  in  1651,  it  was  at  first  supposed  that  it 
would  involve  the  English  and  Dutch  colonies  in 
a  similar  struggle ;  but  Massachusetts  restrained 
the  ardour  of  the  western  settlements,  who  were 
anxious  for  the  reduction  of  New  Amsterdam, 
and  urged  it  upon  the  colonies,  as  the  safest  and 
most  prudent  policy,  "to  forbear  the  use  of  the 
sword,  but  to  be  in  a  posture  of  defence." 

Deeply  apprehensive  of  such  an  attack,  the 
Dutch  West  India  Company  had  authorized  Go- 
vernor Stuyvesant  to  purchase  the  aid  of  the 
Narragansetts ;  but  the  latter  firmly  refused  to 
render  any  assistance.  When  pressed  by  the 
offers  of  the  Dutch,  Mixam,  one  of  the  chiefs, 
nobly  replied :  "I  am  poor,  but  no  presents  of 
goods,  or  of  guns,  or  of  powder  and  shot,  shall 
draw  me  into  a  conspiracy  against  my  friends  the 
English." 


82         HISTORY  OF  NEW  YOKE.      [1655. 

Fortunately,  the  peace  of  1653  put  an  end  to 
all  apprehension  of  an  invasion  from  New  Eng- 
land, and  also  eflFectuallj  prevented  the  sailing  of 
an  expedition  against  New  Amsterdam,  which 
had  been  authorized  by  Cromwell. 

In  addition  to  his  difficulties  with  the  New 
England  colonies  in  relation  to  boundaries,  and 
the  subsequent  danger  of  hostilities,  Stuyvesant 
became  uneasy  at  the  growth  of  the  Swedish  set- 
tlements on  the  Delaware.  At  first,  harassed  by 
the  prospect  of  a  more  imposing  peril,  and  acting 
in  obedience  to  the  pacific  policy  of  his  superiors, 
he  restricted  himself  merely  to  protecting  the 
Dutch  commerce  in  that  quarter,  by  building 
Fort  Cassimer,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Brandy- 
wine. 

As  Fort  Christiana  was  not  more  than  five 
miles  distant,  the  proximity  of  the  rival  garrisons 
speedily  led  to  annoyances  and  contentions. 
These  petty  quarrels  were  kept  up  until  1654, 
when  Risingh,  the  Swedish  governor,  drove  out 
the  Dutch  troops,  and  took  possession  of  their 
fort.  The  news  of  this  high-handed  measure  was 
no  sooner  made  known  to  the  West  India  Com- 
pany, than  Stuyvesant  was  ordered  to  drive  the 
Swedes  from  the  river,  or  compel  their  submis- 
sion. Such  great  preparations  were  accordingly 
made  for  this  undertaking,  that  it  Avas  not  until 
September,  1655,  that  the  expedition  was  com- 
pletely organized.    Sailing  from  New  Amsterdam 


1655.]  RELIGIOUS    TOLERATION.  83 

with  a  force  of  six  Imndred  men,  Stuyvesant  en- 
tered the  Delaware,  and  reduced  fort  after  fort, 
without  meeting  with  any  resistance.  Risingh 
capitulated  on  honourable  terms,  and  the  whole 
Swedish  colony,  amounting  to  seven  hundred  per- 
sons, acknowledged  the  jurisdiction  of  the  States 
General,  and  were  confirmed  in  the  possession  of 
their  lands  and  personal  property. 

From  this  period  the  province  of  New  Nether- 
land  steadily  advanced  in  numbers  and  prosperity. 
The  Dutch  themselves  began  to  appreciate  its 
value ;  and  immigration  to  the  banks  of  the  Hud- 
son was  encouraged  by  wise  and  liberal  regula- 
tions. 

The  religious  tolerance  extended  to  all  comers 
influenced  persons  from  all  parts  of  Europe  to 
take  up  their  residence  in  the  favoured  land.  Bo- 
hemia, Germany,  England,  France,  Switzerland, 
and  Italy  aided  to  increase  the  population  of 
NewNetherland ;  and  the  little  village  of  thatched 
huts  on  the  island  of  Manhattan  speedily  ex- 
changed its  rude  and  primitive  dwellings  for 
structures  of  a  more  imposing  character.  Fugi- 
tives from  persecution  in  other  lands  found 
welcome  and  a  home  at  New  Amsterdam.  Me- 
chanics, "farmers  and  labourers,  foreigners  and 
exiles,  men  inured  to  toil  and  penury,"  were  in- 
vited to  assist  in  building  up  the  colony,  by  the 
offer  of  a  free  passage  from  the  old  world  to  the 
new;  and  the  directors  of  the  company  had  soon 


84  HISTORY   OF   KEW   YORK.  [1655. 

the  satisfaction  of  perceiving  that  their  liberal 
policy  ^vas  productive  of  the  most  beneficial  re- 
sults. 

The  province  of  New  Netherland,  previously 
retarded  in  its  growth  by  restrictions  and  mo- 
nopolies, now  began  to  assume  an  importance 
which  justified  the  most  sanguine  predictions  of 
its  future  greatness.  Agriculture  flourished, 
timber  was  exported,  mechanical  labourers  were 
in  steady  demand,  and  peace  and  plenty  rewarded 
the  toils  of  all. 

Among  other  commercial  enterprises  in  which 
the  West  India  Company  were  engaged  at  this 
period,  was  a  trafiic  in  slaves.  A  portion  of 
these  soon  found  a  market  at  Kew  Amsterdam. 
Others  continued  the  property  of  the  company, 
and  these  latter,  after  a  certain  period  of  service, 
were  settled  upon  small  farms,  upon  the  condi- 
tion of  paying  annually  a  stipulated  amount  of 
produce. 

But  in  the  midst  of  all  this  tolerance  of  opinion, 
the  people  of  New  Netherland  were  far  from  en- 
joying the  same  political  privileges  which  were 
exercised  by  the  neighbouring  English  colonies. 
In  this  respect,  the  directors  of  the  company  still 
continued  arbitrary  and  unwise.  The  delegates 
elected  to  advise  with  the  governor  during  the 
dangerous  period  of  the  Indian  war  had  been 
tolerated  no  longer  than  their  ser\ices  were  ac- 
tually necessary ;  and  although  several  attempts 


1656.]        DISCONTENT   OF  THE   PEOPLE.  85 

were  subsequently  made  by  the  people  to  obtain 
some  concessions  of  authority,  all  such  efforts 
were  stigmatized  as  factious,  and  speedily  re- 
pressed. 

After  numerous  complaints  had  been  made, 
commercial  privileges  were  extended,  but  politi- 
cal enfranchisement  was  steadily  denied.  A  con- 
vention, called  by  the  people  to  assert  their  right 
to  share  in  the  enactment  of  laws  for  the  proper 
government  of  the  province,  was  dissolved  by 
Stuyvesant,  who  regarded  the  demand  as  an  in- 
novation from  New  England,  and  fraught  with 
the  most  dangerous  consequences.  In  answer  to 
a  petition  which  was  presented  to  him,  requiring 
that  no  new  laws  should  be  enacted  but  with  the 
consent  of  the  people,  he  haughtily  told  the 
deputation  that  the  directors  would  never  make 
themselves  responsible  to  subjects,  and  that  his 
authority  was  derived  "from  God  and  the  West 
India  Company,"  and  not  from  the  pleasure  of 
the  wavering  multitude. 

In  this  bold  and  arbitrary  avowal,  Stuyvesant 
was  fully  and  amply  sustained  by  the  directors  in 
Holland.  They  instructed  him  to  pay  no  regard 
to  the  clamours  of  the  people ;  but  to  let  them 
fully  understand  that  they  must  "indulge  no 
longer  the  visionary  dream  that  taxes  could  be 
imposed  only  with  their  consent."  But  the  dis- 
content had  already  taken  root,  and  although  the 
acts  of  the  sturdy  old  governor  were  sullenly 


86  HISTORY    OF   NEW   YORK.  [1659. 

tolerated,  the  sentiment  of  loyalty  was  weakened, 
and  a  change  of  rulers  began  to  be  regarded 
not  only  without  aversion,  but  as  an  object  of 
desire. 

The  western  shore  of  the  Delaware  being 
claimed  by  Lord  Baltimore,  the  proprietary  of 
Maryland,  the  West  India  Company,  fearful  of 
encroachments  from  that  quarter,  and  desirous 
of  building  up  a  barrier  against  any  aggressions 
on  their  southern  frontier,  transferred  their 
claim  to  all  that  portion  of  Delaware  lying  be- 
tween Cape  Henlopen  and  the  falls  of  Trenton 
to  the  city  of  Amsterdam,  which  immediately  pro- 
ceeded to  colonize  it,  principally  with  indented 
servants.  This  scheme,  however,  soon  proved 
partially  unsuccessful.  A  condition  of  freedom, 
under  the  more  liberal  government  .of  Maryland, 
induced  many  of  the  Dutch  settlers  to  break 
through  the  restraints  imposed  upon  them  by 
their  task-masters,  and  seek  refuge  in  the  terri- 
tory of  the  English.  During  the  year  1659, 
Fendall,  the  governor  of  Maryland,  laid  formal 
claim  to  the  possession  of  Delaware ;  but  he  was 
answered  by  the  Dutch  envoy,  that  his  people  had 
purchased  and  colonized  the  territory  in  dispute, 
before  the  patent  of  Lord  Baltimore  was  in  ex- 
istence. The  reply  of  Fendall  being  of  a  threat- 
ening character,  and  the  claim  of  Lord  Baltimore 
being  pertinaciously  reasserted  by  his  agents, 
the  directors  of  the  West  India  Company  adopted 


1659.]  PROPRIETARY   DISPUTES.  87 

the  spirited  resolution  to  defend  their  rights, 
"even  to  the  spilling  of  blood." 

Similar  troubles  were  already  in  agitation  at 
the  north.  Massachusetts  claimed  the  right  to 
extend  the  territory  of  that  colony  to  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Hudson,  and  thence  westwardly  as 
far  as  they  thought  proper;  while  Connecticut 
had  no  sooner  obtained  a  royal  charter  than 
claims  were  asserted  under  it  to  a  considerable 
portion  of  territory  over  which  the  Dutch  had 
previously  exercised  undisputed  jurisdiction. 

Conscious  of  his  inability  to  resist  by  force  of 
arms  the  encroachments  of  his  English  neigh- 
bours, Stuyvesant  went  in  person  to  Boston,  in 
order  to  try  what  he  could  effect  by  negotiation. 
He  met  a  convention  of  the  New  England  colo- 
nies at  that  place,  in  September,  1663 ;  but  was 
compelled  to  retm-n  as  he  went,  without  being 
able  to  obtain,  either  then,  or  during  the  subse- 
quent month  at  Hartford,  the  recognition  of  any 
territory  at  all,  as  belonging  of  right  to  the  pro- 
vince of  New  Netherland.  To  the  cautious  Pu- 
ritan diplomatists,  the  Dutch  province  Avas  a 
fiction,  inasmuch  as  the  English  laid  claim  to  the 
whole  of  the  continent  discovered  by  Cabot. 

In  the  midst  of  these  proprietary  disputes, 
Stuyvesant,  foreseeing  the  danger  that  was  im- 
pending over  the  colony,  sought  to  restore  har- 
mony among  the  people  of  New  Netherland  them- 
selves, by  granting  them  certain  privileges  which 


88         HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.      [1664. 

he  had  heretofore  indignantly  refused.  In  1663, 
a  popular  assembly  was  conceded,  which  met  in 
November  of  the  same  year,  and  in  fuller  num- 
bers during  the  spring  of  166-4:.  But  that  confi- 
dence which  the  government  had  superciliously 
alienated  was  not  to  be  so  easily  regained.  The 
privilege  which  had  been  extended  to  the  "waver- 
ing multitude"  had  been  extorted  from  the  fears 
of  the  governor,  and  not  from  his  sense  of  justice. 
An  alarming  invasion  was  threatened,  and  it  was 
necessary  to  conciliate  the  people,  in  order  to 
prevail  upon  them  to  take  up  arms  in  defence  of 
the  province.   But  the  concessions  came  too  late. 

In  1664,  Charles  II.  granted  to  his  brother 
James,  Duke  of  York,  a  patent  for  all  the  main- 
land of  New  England,  beginning  at  St.  Croix, 
extending  thence  to  the  Pemaquid,  and  stretching 
across  and  embracing  the  whole  territory,  from 
Connecticut  Biver  to  Delaware  Bay. 

Without  any  previous  declaration  of  war  against 
the  Dutch,  three  ships,  with  six  hundred  men, 
were  despatched  from  England  to  take  possession 
of  New  Netherland  in  the  name  of  the  Duke  of 
York.  These  ships,  having  three  commissioners 
on  board,  reached  Boston  in  July;  and  toward 
the  close  of  the  following  month,  the  troops 
pitched  their  camp  on  Long  Island,  on  the  site 
of  the  present  city  of  Brooklyn. 

Governor  Stuy^esant  had  received  early  intel- 
ligence of  the  sailing  of  this  expedition  and  its 


1664.]         CAPTUKED    BY    THE    BRITISH.  89 

destination ;  but  all  his  efforts  to  arouse  the  spirit 
of  the  colonists  were  unavailing.  Indeed,  many 
of  the  latter,  elated  at  the  prospect  of  obtaining 
the  same  political  privileges  which  were  enjoyed 
by  the  neighbouring  provinces,  boldly  denied  that 
the  Dutch  had  ever  any  right  to  the  country. 

No  sooner  had  one  of  the  frigates  entered 
Gravesend  Bay,  than  Stuyvesant  despatched  a 
letter  to  the  English  commander,  desiring  to  know 
the  reason  of  his  approach  and  anchorage  in  the 
harbour,  without  giving  the  customary  notifica- 
tion. Sir  Richard  Nichols  responded  by  a  sum- 
mons of  surrender,  on  the  condition  of  security 
to  the  inhabitants  of  their  estates,  lives,  and 
liberties. 

The  governor,  a  brave  old  soldier,  who  had  lost 
a  limb  in  the  service  of  the  States,  was  desirous 
of  making  a  sturdy  defence;  but  the  council  and 
burgomasters,  whom  he  had  convened  for  consul- 
tation, being  well  aware  that  any  resistance  they 
could  offer  would  be  of  no  avail,  advised  submis- 
sion, provided  the  terms  offered  in  the  summons 
were  such  as  the  inhabitants  could  accept. 

The  fiery  governor  struggled  hard  to  induce 
them  to  change  their  determination.  He  refused 
to  let  them  know  the  liberal  conditions  which  had 
been  offered,  and  upon  their  demanding  a  sight 
of  the  summons,  his  wrath  knew  no  bounds;  sud- 
denly producing  the  latter,  he  passionately  tore 
it  into  shreds  before  their  eyes.     Finally,  how- 


90  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1664. 

ever,  after  much  contention,  and  aided  by  the 
good  offices  of  Winthrop,  the  aged  governor  of 
Connecticut,  Stuyvesant  was  driven  to  consent 
to  a  capitulation.  The  other  settlements  on  the 
Hudson  and  Delaware  swore  allegiance  to  the 
English  soon  after,  and  the  conquest  of  New 
Netherland  was  completed. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

New  Netherland  becomes  New  York — Colonel  Nichols  gover- 
nor— Meeting  on  Long  Island — Incorporation  of  the  city  of 
New  York — Arbitrary  system  of  government  established — 
Lovelace  appointed  governor — War  with  the  Dutch — New 
York  reconquered — Administration  of  Colve — Retrocession  of 
NewYork — Government  of  Andros — Difficulties  with  Connec- 
ticut— Spirited  conduct  of  the  Puritans — Disaffection  of  the 
people — A  representative  government  demanded — Reply  of 
the  Duke  of  York — Description  of  the  province — Its  prosperity 
— City  of  New  York,  its  population  and  public  buildings — 
Character  of  the  people — Andros  recalled — Dongan  appointed 
governor — Concession  of  political  privileges — Indian  aflairs — 
Convention  at  Albany — Designs  of  the  French — Instructions 
of  the  Duke  of  York — Conduct  of  Dongan — Invasion  of  the 
Five  Nations  by  the  French-^Peace  solicited — Speech  of  De 
la  Barre — Reply  of  Garrangula. 

New  Netherland  having  thus,  without  blood- 
shed, become  subjected  to  the  English  crown, 
Colonel  Sir  Richard  Nichols  took  upon  himself 
the  government  of  the  conquered  province  as 
deputy-governor,  and  in  honour  of  the  proprie- 


1665.]  THE    CITY    INCORPORATED.  91 

tary,  that  portion  of  the  territory  retained  by 
him,  together  with  the  little  capital  of  New  Am- 
sterdam, acquired  the  name  of  New  York. 

All  the  tract  of  land  previously  belonging  to 
New  Netherland,  which  was  bounded  by  the  Dela- 
ware Bay  on  the  west,  by  the  ocean  and  the 
Hudson  River  on  the  east,  and  by  the  present 
state  of  New  York  on  the  north,  having  been 
granted  by  the  duke  to  Lord  Berkeley  and 
Sir  George  Carteret,  became  henceforth  a  sepa- 
rate and  distinct  jurisdiction,  under  the  name 
of  the  province  o-f  New  Jersey. 

During  the  short  period  that  Nichols  remained 
governor  of  New  York,  commissioners,  appointed 
for  that  purpose,  determined  the  boundary  be- 
tween the  latter  province  and  Connecticut,  and 
under  their  decision  the  whole  of  Long  Island 
was  included  within  the  territory  of  the  new  pro- 
prietary. 

On  the  1st  of  March,  1G65,  a  convention  of 
delegates  was  held  at  Hempstead,  on  Long 
Island,  for  the  purpose  of  adjusting  the  limits  of 
their  respective  townships,  and  the  appointment 
of  proper  local  officers.  Three  months  later,  the 
city  of  New  York  was  incorporated,  the  exercise 
of  municipal  authority  being  intrusted  to  a  mayor, 
five  aldermen,  and  a  sheriff;  but  the  people  them- 
selves derived  no  political  privileges  from  a 
change  of  rulers.  The  governor,  and  a  council 
devoted  to  his  interests,  retained  the  sole  right 


92         HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.      [1673. 

to  impose  taxes,  and  to  enact  or  modify  such  laws 
throughout  the  province  as  thej  thought  proper. 
This  arbitrary  mode  of  goA^ernment  was  produc- 
tive of  the  usual  discontent ;  but  Nichols,  busied 
for  the  most  of  the  time  in  confii-ming  the  ancient 
Dutch  grants,  paid  no  heed  to  the  murmurs  of 
''factious  republicans." 

Returning  to  England  in  1667,  he  was  succeed- 
ed by  Franks  Lovelace,  who,  following  out  the 
system  adopted  by  his  predecessor,  took  upon 
himself  both  the  executive  and  judicial  functions, 
and  instructed  his  deputy  on  the  western  shore 
of  the  Delaware  to  repress  all  disajQFection  in  that 
quarter,  by  laying  such  taxes  upon  the  people  as 
might  give  them  "liberty  for  no  thought  but  how 
to  discharge  them." 

Adopting  this  principle  as  his  rule  of  action, 
Lovelace  imposed  a  duty  of  ten  per  cent,  upon 
all  imports  and  exports.  But  this  high-handed 
measui'e  was  met  by  a  vigorous  protest  from  eight 
of  the  Long  Island  towns,  who  boldly  expressed 
their  aversion  to  all  taxes  levied  under  the  sole 
authority  of  the  governor  and  council,  and  de- 
manded a  participation  in  the  government  of  the 
province  by  means  of  an  annual  assembly.  Love- 
lace and  his  subservient  subordinates  responded 
to  the  protest  by  ordering  it  to  be  publicly  burned 
by  the  common  hangman. 

The  affairs  of  the  province  continued  to  be  ad- 
ministered in  this  despotic  manner  until  1673, 


1673.]       RECAPTURED   BY  THE   DUTCH.  93 

when  Charles  II.,  having  been  drawn  by  the  in- 
trigues of  Louis  XIV.  into  a  war  with  the  Dutch, 
a  small  squadron  belonging  to  the  latter,  and 
commanded  by  Cornelius  Evertsen,  anchored,  on 
the  30th  of  July,  in  the  vicinity  of  Staten  Island. 

Lovelace  appears  to  have  been  absent  at  this 
time,  and  Manning,  the  commandant  of  the  fort, 
no  sooner  received  a  summons  to  surrender,  than 
he  sent  a  messenger  to  arrange  the  terms  of  ca- 
pitulation. Not  a  blow  was  struck.  The  people 
of  New  Jersey  quietly  returned  to  their  old  al- 
legiance, and  the  Swedes  and  Fins  followed  their 
example.  The  whole  territory  of  New  Nether- 
land  having  thus  quietly  submitted  to  the  arms 
of  the  States  General,  Anthony  Colve  was  ap- 
pointed governor-general,  and  Lovelace  obtained 
permission  to  return  to  England  in  the  Dutch 
fleet.  Manning  was  subsequently  tried  by  court- 
martial  for  treachery  and  cowardice,  and  found 
guilty.  Having,  however,  in  the  mean  time,  made 
interest  in  England  with  the  king  and  the  Duke 
of  York,  he  escaped  being  sentenced  to  death,  but 
was  adjudged  to  have  his  sword  publicly  broken 
over  his  head,  and  to  be  incapable  of  serving  the 
crown  for  the  future  in  any  civil  or  military  ca- 
pacity. 

Governor  Colve  retained  his  office  but  a 
short  period,  for  at  the  close  of  the  war,  which 
took  place  in  February,  1674,  it  was  agreed  by 
treaty  mutually  to  restore  all  conquests.     To  re- 


94  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1674. 

move  any  disputes  which  might  subsequently  arise 
in  respect  to  his  title  in  consequence  of  the  pre- 
vious surrender  of  the  province,  the  Duke  of 
York  obtained  from  the  king  a  new  patent, 
covering  the  same  lands  which  had  been  granted 
him  in  1664.  On  the  1st  of  August,  two  days 
after  this  patent  was  executed,  the  duke  ap- 
pointed Major  Edmund  Andros  to  receive  pos- 
session of  the  province  at  the  hands  of  the  Dutch 
authorities,  and  to  renew  the  absolute  authority 
of  the  proprietary.  On  the  31st  of  October,  this 
was  quietly  accomplished.  Hoping  to  obtain 
some  concessions  from  the  new  governor,  the  in- 
habitants petitioned  to  be. allowed  an  assembly, 
and  Andros  favoured  the  prayer ;  but  it  was  dis- 
approved of  by  the  proprietary.  The  settlers  of 
the  eastern  portion  of  Long  Island,  preferring 
the  jurisdiction  of  Connecticut  to  that  of  New 
York,  also  petitioned  Andros  to  be  allowed  to 
unite  themselves  with  that  colony;  but,  instead 
of  their  wishes  beino;  acceded  to,  the  o-overnor 

O  7  0 

soon  afterward  organized  an  expedition  for  the 
purpose  of  asserting  the  claim  of  the  Duke  of 
York  to  all  that  territory  embraced  within  his 
patent  as  far  as  the  Connecticut  River.  As  soon 
as  these  intentions  were  made  known  to  Laet,  the 
deputy-governor  of  Connecticut,  he  called  the 
assembly  together,  who  promptly  ordered  Captain 
Bull,  in  command  of  the  colonial  troops  at  Say- 
brook,  to  resist  the  advance  of  Andros.   The  order 


1679.]  SHORT-SIGHTED  POLICY.  95 

reached  Saybrook  almost  simultaneously  with  the 
appearance  of  Anclros  before  the  town. 

He  summoned  the  fort  to  surrender,  and  the 
sturdy  Puritan  commandant  responded  by  hoist- 
ing his  flao;.  Conscious  that  his  force  was  too 
weak  to  carry  the  place  by  assault,  Andros  re- 
sorted to  persuasion;  but  when  he  directed  his 
commission  and  the  duke's  patent  to  be  read  in 
the  hearing  of  the  colonial  troops,  he  was  ordered 
to  desist.  Finding  neither  threats  nor  expostu- 
lations of  any  avail,  he  suffered  himself  to  be 
escorted  to  his  boat  by  the  armed  provincials,  and 
set  sail  for  New  York. 

The  exercise  of  his  authority  being  continually 
clogged  with  difficulties,  especially  by  the  people 
of  Long  Island,  many  of  whom  were  of  Puritan 
descent,  Andros  strongly  urged  upon  the  Duke 
of  York  the  policy  of  conceding  to  the  people  a 
representative  form  of  government.  To  this  wise 
and  judicious  counsel,  the  duke  replied  by  letter, 
dated  the  1st  of  January,  1679 : — 

"I  cannot  but  suspect  that  assemblies  would 
be  of  dangerous  consequence ;  nothing  being  more 
known  than  the  aptness  of  such  bodies  to  assume 
to  themselves  many  privileges  which  prove  de- 
structive to,  or  very  often  disturb  the  peace  of 
government  when  they  are  allowed." 

Such  being  the  decision  of  the  short-sighted 
proprietary,  Andros  was  too  obsequious  a  servant 
to  persist  in  urging  the  popular  demand.     The 


96  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1679. 

province  continued  to  prosper  notwithstanding. 
It  consisted  at  this  time  of  twenty-four  towns  and 
villages,  in  six  precincts,  ridings,  or  courts  of 
sessions.  The  number  of  its  militia  amounted  to 
two  thousand  men.  Its  annual  exports  consisted 
of  sixty  thousand  bushels  of  wheat,  besides  peas, 
beef,  pork,  tobacco,  and  furs. 

The  city  of  New  York  contained  some  three 
thousand  five  hundred  inhabitants,  and  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty  houses,  almost  all  of  which 
presented  their  gables  to  the  streets,  the  most 
important  public  buildings  being  erected  in  the 
foreground,  so  as  to  be  the  more  readily  seen 
from  the  river.  The  chief  part  of  the  town,  at 
this  period,  lay  along  the  East  Eiver,  and  on  the 
slope  of  the  ridge  forming  the  line  of  Broadway. 
In  front  of  the  town  were  constructed  three  half- 
moon  forts,  called  Rondeels,  which  were  erected  at 
equal  distances  from  each  other,  between  Coenties 
Slip  and  Wall  Street,  the  latter  deriving  its  name 
from  the  line  of  palisades  which  stretched  from 
that  point  to  the  junction  of  Grace  and  Lumber 
Streets,  where  the  North  River  limits  terminated 
in  a  redoubt. 

Apart  from  the  unhappy  dissensions  arising 
from  the  denial  of  the  right  to  govern  themselves, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  province  of  New  York  were 
both  peaceful  and  j^rosperous.  Having  but  few 
wants,  and  simple  in  their  tastes,  "a  wagon  gave 
as  good  content  as  in  Europe  a  coach,  and  their 


1683.]        COLONEL    DONGAN,    GOVEENOR.  97 

home-made  cloth  as  the  finest  lawns.  The  doors 
of  the  low-roofed  houses,  which  luxury  never 
entered,  stood  wide  open  to  charity  and  the 
stranger."  A  merchant  worth  five  thousand  dol- 
lars was  accounted  an  opulent  man ;  and  a  farmer 
worth  half  that  sum  in  personal  property  was 
regarded  as  rich;  but  the  merchants  were  not 
many,  the  slaves  were  few,  and  servants  greatly 
in  demand. 

But  the  consciousness  of  being  deprived  of 
those  political  rights  which  were  enjoyed  by  all 
the  other  English  colonies  was  a  constant  source 
of  unhappiness  and  disaffection,  especially  among 
the  people  of  Long  Island,  who  had  struggled  for 
many  years  to  obtain  the  same  liberty  of  self- 
government  which  was  exercised  by  their  kindred 
of  Connecticut.  It  was  therefore  with  feelings 
of  the  utmost  gratification  that  they  hailed  the 
recall  of  i^ndros  in  1682,  and  the  appointment 
of  Colonel  Dongan  as  governor  of  the  province. 

Repeated  importunities  and  petitions  having 
at  length  convinced  even  the  obtuse  mind  of  the 
Duke  of  York,  that  his  narrow  provincial  policy 
was  fast  bringing  his  authority  into  contempt,  and 
alienating  the  affections  of  the  people,  he  con- 
descended to  take  counsel  of  William  Penn,  and 
instructed  Dongan  to  convene  a  general  assem- 
bly. After  many  delays,  the  new  governor 
reached  New!  York  on  the  27th  of  August,  1683, 
and  almost  immediately  afterward  issued  a  pro- 


98  HISTOEY    OF   NEW   YORK.  [1683. 

clamation  to  the  freeholders,  empowering  them 
to  elect  delegates  to  the  legislature. 

On  the  17th  of  October,  1683,  the  first  assem- 
bly met.  It  consisted  of  the  governor,  his  coun- 
cil of  ten,  and  seventeen  members  chosen  by  the 
people,  to  form  the  house  of  representatives. 
The  most  important  act  of  the  session  was  the 
adoption  of  a  declaration  of  rights.  This  charter 
proclaimed  that,  "  Supreme  legislative  power  shall 
for  ever  be,  and  reside,  in  the  governor,  council, 
and  people,  met  in  general  assembly.  Every 
freeholder  and  freeman  shall  vote  for  representa- 
tion without  restraint.  No  freeman  shall  suffer 
but  by  judgment  of  his  peers ;  and  all  trials  shall 
be  by  a  jury  of  twelve  men.  No  tax  shall  be 
assessed  on  any  pretence  whatever,  but  by  the 
consent  of  the  assembly.  No  seaman  or  soldier 
shall  be  quartered  on  the  inhabitants  against 
their  will.  No  martial  law  shall  exist.  No  per- 
son professing  faith  in  God  by  Jesus  Christ  shall 
at  any  time  be  any  ways  disquieted,  or  questioned, 
for  any  difference  of  opinion."  Such  was  the 
language  of  the  earliest  popular  charter  of  New 
York.  The  despotism  under  which  the  people 
had  so  long  groaned  had  taught  them  a  just  con- 
sideration for  the  liberty  of  others. 

The  spirit  of  discontent  being  appeased  by  the 
concession  of  political  privileges.  Governor  Don- 
gan  next  tm-ned  his  attention  to  Indian  affairs. 
For  a  long  series  of  years  the  French  in  Canada 


1684.]  INDIAN  AFFAIRS.  99 

had  vainly  endeavoured  to  break  down  the  power 
of  the  Iroquois,  and  detach  them  from  their  alli- 
ance, at  first  with  the  Dutch,  and  subsequently 
with  the  English.  But  neither  hostile  invasions 
nor  the  preaching  of  Jesuit  missionaries  could 
win  those  proud  and  independent  warriors  to  ac- 
knowledge the  supremacy  of  France.  But  even 
while  disposed  to  maintain  a  friendship  with  the 
English,  they  were  not  insensible  of  the  neglect 
which  they  had  met  with  at  the  hands  of  Love- 
lace, and  in  their  war-parties  along  the  frontiers 
of  New  York,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  had  re- 
sented the  aggressions  of  the  whites.  Soon  after 
the  commencement  of  Dongan's  administration, 
the  principal  chiefs  of  the  Five  Nations  were  in- 
vited to  meet  in  grand  convention  at  Albany,  for 
the  purpose  of  renewing  the  old  treaty  of  peace, 
and  putting  an  end  to  this  desultory  warfare. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  French,  under  De  la  Barre, 
were  organizing  a  large  army,  with  the  avowed 
purpose  of  utterly  exterminating  the  Five  Na- 
tions, and  Governor  Dongan  received  instructions 
from  the  Duke  of  York  to  throw  no  obstacles  in 
their  way.  Too  conscientious  to  regard  any  such 
ruthless  orders,  Dongan  warned  the  Indians  of  the 
impending  danger,  and  promised  them  assistance. 
In  accordance  with  their  previous  agreement, 
deputies  from  the  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Cayugas, 
Onondagas,  and  Senecas,  met  the  governors  of 
New  York  and  Virginia  at  Albany,  on  the  13th 


100  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1684. 

of  July,  1684,  where  a  treaty  of  peace  was  made 
with  the  oflfending  tribes,  the  Mohawks  and  Sene- 
cas,  "never  having  broken  the  ancient  chain," 
being  witnesses  to  the  same. 

The  warriors  had  scarcely  dissolved  the  coun- 
cil and  returned  to  their  villages,  before  De  la 
Barre  invaded  the  Iroquois  territory  with  an 
army  of  seventeen  hundred  men.  Bad  provisions, 
however,  and  the  miasma  arising  from  the  marshes 
of  Ontario,  had  so  weakened  his  troops  by  sick-' 
ness,  that,  after  a  delay  of  six  weeks  at  i'ort 
Frontenac,  he  crossed  the  lake,  and  invited  the 
chiefs  of  the  Five  Nations  to  meet  him  and  con- 
clude a  treaty  of  peace. 

The  Mohawks  and  Senecas,  acting  under  the 
advice  of  Dongan,  refused  to  attend;  but  the 
Oneidas,  Onondagas,  and  Cayugas,  influenced  by 
the  Jesuit  missionaries,  concluded  to  visit  the 
French  governor  in  his  camp,  and  hear  what  he 
had  to  say. 

Two  days  after  their  arrival  a  council  was  held. 
Addressing  himself  to  Garrangula,  an  Onondaga 
chief,  De  la  Barre  said:  "The  king,  my  master, 
being  informed  that  the  Five  Nations  have  often 
infringed  the  peace,  has  ordered  me  to  come 
hither  with  a  guard,  and  to  send  Ohguesse  to  the 
Onondagas  to  bring  the  chief  sachems  to  my 
camp.  The  intention  of  the  great  king  is,  that 
you  and  I  may  smoke  the  calumet  of  peace  to- 
gether ;  but  upon  this  condition :  that  you  promise 


1684.]  DE  LA  barre's  speech.  101 

me  in  .the  name  "of  the  Senecas,  Cayugas,  Onon- 
dagas,  Oneidas,  and  Mohawks,  to  give  entire 
satisfaction  and  reparation  to  his  subjects,  and 
for  the  futm-e  never  to  molest  them. 

"  This  is  what  I  have  to  say  to  Garrangula, 
that  he  may  carry  to  the  other  chiefs  the  declara- 
tion which  I  make.  The  king,  my  master,  does 
not  wish  them  to  force  him  to  send  a  great  army 
to  Cadaracqui  Fort,  to  begin  a  war,  which  must 
be  fatal  to  them.  He  would  be  sorry  that  this 
fort,  which  was  the  work  of  peace,  should  become 
the  prison  of  your  warriors.  We  must  endeavour, 
on  both  sides,  to  prevent  such  misfortunes.  The 
French,  who  are  the  brethren  and  friends  of  the 
Five  Nations,  will  never  trouble  their  repose, 
provided  that  the  satisfaction  which  I  demand  be 
given,  and  that  the  treaties  of  peace  be  hereafter 
observed.  I  shall  be  extremely  grieved  if  my 
words  do  not  produce  the  effect  which  I  expect 
from  them;  for  then  I  shall  be  obliged  to  join 
with  the  Governor  of  New  York,  who  is  command- 
ed by  his  master  to  assist  me,  and  burn  the  cas- 
tles of  the  Five  Nations,  and  destroy  you.  This 
belt  confirms  my  words." 

Unmoved  by  the  threat  with  which  De  la  Barre 
had  closed  his  address,  the  proud  Onondaga 
chieftain,  perfectly  aware  of  the  weak  condition 
of  the  army  which  had  marched  so  exultingly 
from  Canada  to  exterminate  his  people,  walked 
five  or  six  times  round  the  circle,  and  then,  halt- 

9* 


102  HISTORY    OF   NEW   YORK.  [1684. 

ing  before  the  Frencli  governor,  who  was  seated 
in  an  elbow  chair,  he  answered  with  the  most  sar- 
castic irony : — 

"Yonnondio,  I  honour  you,  and  the  warriors 
that  are  with  me  likewise  honour  you.  Your  in- 
terpreter has  finished  his  speech;  I  now  begin 
mine.  My  words  make  haste  to  reach  your 
ears:  hearken  to  them.  Yonnondio,  you  must 
have  believed,  when  you  left  Quebec,  that  the 
sun  had  burnt  up  all  the  forests  which  render  our 
castles  inaccessible  to  the  French;  or  that  the 
lakes  had  so  far  overflowed  their  banks  that  they 
had  surrounded  our  castles,  and  that  it  was  im- 
possible for  us  to  get  out  of  them.  Yes,  Yonnon- 
dio, surely  you  must  have  dreamed  so,  and  the 
curiosity  of  seeing  so  great  a  wonder  has  brought 
you  so  far.  Now  you  are  undeceived,  since  I 
and  the  warriors  here  present  are  come  to  assure 
you  that  the  Senecas,  Cayugas,  Onondagas, 
Oneidas,  and  Mohawks  are  yet  alive.  Hear, 
Yonnondio.  I  do  not  sleep.  I  have  my  eyes 
open;  and  the  sun,  which  enlightens  me,  discovers 
to  me  a  great  captain  at  the  head  of  a  company 
of  soldiers,  who  speaks  as  if  he  were  dreaming. 
He  says  that  he  only  came  to  the  lake  to  smoke 
the  great  calumet  with  the  Onondagas.  But  Gar- 
rangula  says,  that  he  sees  the  contrary;  that  it 
was  to  knock  them  on  the  head,  if  sickness  had 
not  weakened  the  arms  of  the  French." 

Continuing  his  speech  in  the  same  strain  of 


1684.]     REPLY  OF  GAERANGULA.        103 

fierce  sarcasm,  he  told  De  la  Barre  that  the  Great 
Sph'it  had  saved  the  lives  of  the  French  by  afflictin<^ 
them  with  sickness ;  for  if  they  had  not  been  thus 
stricken  down  by  a  higher  Power,  the  very  women, 
and  children,  and  old  men  of  the  Iroquois  woukl 
have  stormed  the  heart  of  the  French  camp.  In 
answer  to  the  accusation  of  being  subject  to  the 
English,  he  said  proudly:  "We  are  born  free; 
we  neither  depend  upon  Yonnondio  nor  Corlear. 
We  may  go  where  we  please,  and  carry  with  us 
whom  we  please ;  and  buy  and  sell  what  we  please ; 
if  your  allies  are  slaves,  use  them  as  such.  This 
belt  preserves  my  words."  When  he  had  justified 
the  wars  of  the  Five  Nations  with  the  Indian 
tribes  friendly  to  the  French,  he  thus  concluded : 

"Hear,  Yonnondio.  What  I  say  is  the  voice 
of  the  Five  Nations.  Hear  what  they  answer ; 
open  your  ears  to  what  they  speak.  The  Sene- 
cas,  Cayugas,  Onondagas,  Oneidas,  and  Mohawks 
say,  that  when  they  buried  the  hatchet  at  Cada- 
racqui,  in  the  presence  of  your  predecessor,  and 
in  the  middle  of  the  fort,  they  planted  the  tree  of 
peace  in  the  same  place,  to  be  there  carefully  pre- 
served ;  that  instead  of  a  retreat  for  soldiers,  the 
fort  might  become  a  rendezvous  for  merchants ; 
that  in  place  of  arms  and  munitions  of  war, 
beavers  and  merchandise  should  only  enter  there. 

"Hear,  Yonnondio.  Take  care  for  the  future, 
that  so  great  a  number  of  soldiers  as  appear  there 
do  not  choke  the  tree  of  peace  planted  in  so  small 


104  HISTOKY    OF   NEW   YORK.  [1684. 

a  fort.  It  Avill  be  a  great  loss,  if,  after  it  had  so 
easily  taken  root,  you  should  stop  its  growth  and 
prevent  its  covering  your  country  and  ours  with 
its  branches.  I  assure  you,  in  the  name  of  the 
Five  Nations,  that  our  warriors  shall  dance  to  the 
calumet  of  peace  under  its  leaves,  and  shall  remain 
quiet  on  their  mats,  and  shall  never  dig  up  .the 
hatchet  till  their  brother  Yonnondio  or  Corlear, 
shall,  either  jointly  or  separately,  endeavour  to 
attack  the  country  which  the  Great  Spirit  gave 
to  our  ancestors.  This  belt  preserves  my  words ; 
and  this  other,  the  authority  which  the  Five  Na- 
tions have  given  me." 

Then  turning  to  Le  Main,  the  interpreter,  he 
said:  "Take  courage,  Ohguesse;  you  have  spirit, 
speak;  explain  my  words;  forget  nothing;  tell 
all  that  your  brethren  and  friends  say  to  Yon- 
nondio, your  governor,  by  the  mouth  of  Garran- 
gula,  who  loves  you,  and  desires  you  to  accept  of 
this  present  of  beaver,  and  take  part  with  me  in 
my  feast,  to  which  I  invite  you.  This  present 
of  beaver  is  sent  to  Yonnondio  on  the  part  of  the 
Five  Nations." 

And  so  ended  this  remarkable  speech,  one  of 
the  finest  examples  of  barbarous  eloquence  to  be 
found  in  any  language.  Utterly  confounded  by 
the  bold  reply  of  the  Onondaga  chieftain,  De  la 
Barre  hastily  accepted  a  treaty,  the  terms  of 
which  he  was  not  in  a  condition  to  dispute,  and 
retu-ed  with  his  shattered  forces  to  Montreal. 


1685.]  CANADIAN  AFFAIRS.  105 


CHAPTER  Vni. 

Canadian  aifairs — Denonville  supersedes  De  la  Barre — Pre- 
pares for  war — Marches  against  the  Iroquois — Is  attacked — 
Retires  into  Canada — Fate  of  the  French  garrison  at  Niaga- 
ra— RetaUation  of  the  Iroquois — Negociations  for  peace — 
Reply  of  Governor  Dongan — Speech  of  Garrangula — Coun- 
cil at  Montreal — Stratagem  of  the  Dinondadie  Indians — Re- 
newal of  hostilities — Dreadful  massacre  of  the  French — 
Affairs  of  New  York — Disaffection  in  England — Landing  of 
William,  Prince  of  Orange — Flight  of  James — Revolution 
in  the  provinces — Dongan  recalled — Agitation  in  New  York 
• — The  fort  seized  by  Leisler- — William  and  Mary  proclaimed 
— Leisler  governor — Count  Frontenac  appointed  governor 
of  Canada — Negotiates  with  the  Five  Nations — War  between 
England  and  France — Burnmg  of  Schenectady — Difficulties 
in  New  York. 

The  unsuccessful  expedition  of  De  la  Barre 
and  its  disgraceful  termination  were  no  sooner 
made  known  in  France,  than  a  reinforcement  of 
troops  was  ordered  into  Canada,  and  the  Marquis 
Denonville  appointed  to  supersede  De  la  Barre  in 
the  government  of  that  province.  An  energetic 
soldier,  extolled  for  his  courage,  uprightness,  and 
pietj,  Denonville  speedily  sought  to  retrieve  the 
honour  of  the  French  arms.  In  order  to  control 
the  Iroquois,  and,  at  the  same  time,  command  the 
fur  trade  of  the  lakes,  he  suggested  to  the  French 
government  the  propriety  of  establishing  a  fort 
at  Niagara.  In  the  mean  time  he  prepared  for 
active  operations  against  the  Five  Nations,  by 


106  HISTORY   OF   NEW    YORK.  [1687. 

pushing  foi'-ward  extraordinary  supplies  to  Fort 
Frontenac. 

Penetrating  at  once  the  design  of  the  new 
French  governor,  Dongan  wrote  to  warn  him, 
that  any  attack  upon  the  Indian  confederacy 
would  be  resented  by  the  English,  whose  allies 
they  were.  Affairs  remained  in  this  disturbed 
condition  until  1687,  when  the  Miamis  being 
threatened  with  war  by  the  Iroquois,  Denonville 
determined,  by  invading  the  latter,  to  force  them 
to  forego  their  purpose.  Collecting  at  Montreal 
two  thousand  troops  and  six  hundred  friendly 
Indians,  he  sent  orders  to  the  commanders  of  out- 
posts to  meet  him  with  reinforcements  at  Niaga- 
ra, for  an  expedition  against  the  Senecas.  The 
Five  Nations  immediately  prepared  for  war. 
Embarking  his  whole  army  in  canoes,  Denonville 
set  out  from  Fort  Cadaracqui  on  the  23d  of  June, 
and  sailing  down  the  lake  in  two  divisions,  land- 
ed at  Tyrondequait,  and  marched  against  the 
principal  town  of  the  Senecas,  seven  leagues  dis- 
tant. In  the  mean  time.  Monsieur  Companie, 
with  an  advance  party  of  some  three  hundred 
Canadians,  had  surprised  two  villages  of  the 
Onondagas,  who,  reposing  upon  the  good  faith  of 
the  missionary  Lamberville,  had  settled  them- 
selves peacefully  about  eight  leagues  from  the 
lake.  To  guard  against  their  giving  the  alarm 
to  their  countrymen,  these  Indians  were  ruthless- 
ly seized  and  carried  to  the  fort.      Reserving 


1687.]    BATTLE  WITH  THE  SENEGAS.      107 

thirteen  of  the  principal  warriors  to  be  sent  as 
galley  slaves  to  France,  the  remainder  were  tor- 
tured at  the  stake,  where,  singing  their  death- 
song  to  the  last,  they  died  heroically. 

Throwing  forward  a  detachment  of  traders  and 
friendly  Indians  as  scouts,  Denonville  followed 
with  the  main  body,  which  was  composed  of  the 
regulars  and  militia.  On  the  second  day  of  the 
march,  the  vanguard  reached  the  vicinity  of  the 
town.  Seeing  no  one,  and  supposing  the  place 
to  have  been  deserted,  they  quickened  their  pace 
to  overtake  the  fugitives.  Suddenly,  five  hun- 
dred Senecas  sprang  from  their  ambush,  and, 
raising  the  war-cry,  charged  upon  the  advance, 
and  upon  the  main  body  which  hastened  up  to 
its  support.  In  a  moment  all  was  confusion. 
Rolled  back  upon  each  other  by  the  unexpected- 
ness of  the  attack,  the  French  retreated  in  disor- 
der, and  took  refuge  in  the  neighbouring  woods. 
The  firmness  of  the  Indian  allies  alone  retrieved 
the  fortunes  of  the  day.  Gathering  courage  from 
the  example  of  the  latter,  the  regulars  under  De- 
nonville  were  rallied,  and  again  led  to  the  attack, 
which  finally  ended  in  the  repulse  of  the  Senecas. 

But  the  victory  was  dearly  bought.  Disheart- 
ened by  his  losses,  and  the  sturdy  resistance  he 
had  met  with,  Denonville  contented  himself  with 
burning  the  Seneca  village,  and  torturing  two  old 
men  found  in  it.  Afraid  to  pursue  the  fugitives, 
he  retired  with  his  army  to  the  south-east  side  of 


108  HISTORY   or   XEW   YORK.  [1687. 

the  straits,  at  Niagara,  "where  he  built  a  fort; 
and  leaving  within  it  a  garrison  of  one  hundred 
men,  under  the  command  of  the  Chevalier  de  la 
Troje,  returned  into  Canada  with  the  remainder 
of  his  army. 

He  had  no  sooner  evacuated  the  country  of  the 
Iroquois,  than  the  Senecas  reoccupied  it,  and  in- 
vesting the  garrison  of  Niagara,  succeeded  in 
cutting  off  the  communication,  until  all  but  eight 
men  perished  miserably  by  famine. 

Lamberville,  the  missionary,  who  had  been  the 
unconscious  cause  of  the  massacre  of  the  Onon- 
dagas  at  Fort  Cadaracqui,  was  soon  after  sum- 
moned by  some  aged  chiefs  into  their  presence. 
"We  have  much  reason,"  said  one  of  them,  "to 
treat  thee  as  an  enemy;  but  we  know  thee  too 
well.  Thou  hast  betrayed  us,  but  treason  was 
not  in  thy  breast.  Fly,  therefore ;  for  when  our 
young  braves  shall  have  sung  their  war-song,  they 
will  listen  to  no  voice  but  the  swelling  voice  of 
their  anger."  Humanely  considerate  for  his 
safety,  even  in  the  midst  of  their  own  sorrow, 
they  ordered  trusty  guides  to  conduct  him  se- 
cretly to  a  place  of  security. 

On  the  5th  of  August,  Governor  Dongan  met 
the  chiefs  of  the  Five  Nations  in  council  at  Alba- 
ny, and  warmly  commended  the  courage  they 
had  exhibited  in  defending  theii*  country  against 
the  advance  of  the  French.  He  advised,  that 
the  Christian  Indians  who  had  removed  into  Ca- 


1688.]    ADVANCE  OF  GARRANGULA.       109 

nada  should  be  invited  to  return  and  settle  them- 
selves within  the  limits  of  their  own  territory, 
and  strongly  cautioned  his  allies  to  make  no  peace 
with  the  French,  except  through  his  agency. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  1688,  the  Senecas, 
Onondagas,  and  Mohawks  continued  a  fierce  re- 
taliatory war  upon  the  Canadians.  Fort  Cham- 
bly  was  beset,  the  houses  in  the  vicinity  burned 
to  the  ground,  and  the  warriors  returned  in  tri- 
umph with  numerous  captives  to  Albany.  Several 
French  soldiers  were  captured  near  Fort  Fronte- 
nac,  by  the  Onondagas,  and  held  by  them  as 
hostages  until  their  sachems  should  be  returned 
to  their  own  country,  unharmed,  from  the  galleys 
of  Marseilles. 

Denonville  applied,  through  Pere  le  Vaillant, 
to  Governor  Dongan,  to  negotiate  a  peace  and  use 
his  influence  for  a  restoration  of  the  captives. 
Dongan  answered,  that  no  peace  could  be  made 
with  the  Five  Nations  until  the  Onondaga  sa- 
chems were  released  from  the  French  galleys  and 
sent  home,  the  Christian  Indians  returned  to  their 
own  country,  the  forts  at  Niagara  and  Frontenac 
razed,  and  compensation  made  to  the  Senecas  for 
the  damage  they  had  sustained. 

Denonville  indignantly  refused  to  purchase  a 
peace  on  any  such  humiliating  terms,  and  Gar- 
rangula  immediately  advanced  at  the  head  of  five 
hundred  warriors.  "I  have  always  loved  the 
French,"  said  the  scornful  chieftain.    "Our  war- 

10 


110  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1688. 

riois  proposed  to  come  and  burn  jour  forts,  your 
houses,  your  granges,  and  your  corn ;  to  weaken 
you  by  famine,  and  then  to  overwhelm  you.  I  am 
come  to  tell  Yonnondio  he  can  escape  this  misery, 
if,  within  four  days,  he  will  yield  to  the  terms  which 
Corlear  has  proposed."  Thus  haughtily  threat- 
ened, Denonville  yielded.  A  truce  being  pro- 
claimed, twelve  hundred  warriors  met  the  French 
governor  in  council  at  Montreal,  and  dictated  a 
treaty  of  peace  on  the  conditions  previously 
offered  by  Governor  Dongan.  As  the  Mohawks 
and  Senecaswere  not  represented  at  the  council, 
Denonville  required  that  deputies  from  thera 
should  also  come  forward  and  ratify  the  treaty 
on  the  part  of  their  respective  nations.  To  this 
requisition  the  other  chiefs  agreed,  and  the  terms 
of  the  treaty  having  been  arranged,  the  conven- 
tion was  dissolved. 

But  while  the  prospects  of  peace  were  thus 
brightening,  a  singular  artifice,  adopted  by  a  tribe 
of  Indians  friendly  to  the  French,  suddenly  in- 
spired the  Iroquois  with  sentiments  of  the  bitter- 
est hostility. 

The  Dinondadies,  an  Indian  tribe  at  war  with 
the  Five  Nations,  desirous  of  preventing  a  good 
understanding  between  the  French  and  the  Iro- 
quois, executed  the  following  stratagem  to  effect 
their  purpose.  One  hundred  warriors,  led  by 
Adario,  then'  chief,  suddenly  intercepted  the  de- 
puties of  the  confederated  cantons,  at  the  falls  of 


1G88.]  INDIAN   STRATAGEM^  111 

the  Cadaracqui,  or  Ontario  River,  while  they 
were  on  their  way  to  Montreal  to  ratify  the 
treaty  of  peace  previously  agreed  upon.  Some 
were  killed,  and  the  remainder  taken  prison- 
ers. Adario  then  boasted  to  the  latter  that  he 
owed  his  success  to  the  French  governor,  who 
had  given  him  timely  information  of  the  approach 
of  fifty  Iroquois  warriors.  Surprised  at  this  ap- 
parently treacherous  conduct,  the  ambassadors 
communicated  to  the  chief  the  peaceful  object  of 
their  journey.  Feigning  the  utmost  indignation 
and  remorse  at  having  been  made  an  instrument 
of  the  basest  treachery,  Adario  instantly  ordered 
the  captives  to  be  set  free.  "  Go,  my  brethren," 
said  he  ;  "  I  untie  your  bonds  and  send  you  home 
again,  though  our  nations  be  at  war.  The  French 
governor  has  made  me  commit  so  black  an  action, 
that  I  shall  never  rest  easy  until  your  people 
shall  have  taken  a  full  revenge." 

Giving  implicit  credence  to  the  story  told  by 
Adario,  the  Five  Nations  no  sooner  heard  of  the 
outrage  which  had  been  committed  upon  the  per- 
sons of  their  ambassadors,  than,  animated  by  the 
keenest  thirst  for  revenge,  they  collected  twelve 
hundred  warriors,  and  on  the  26th  of  July,  1688, 
landed  on'  the  south  side  of  the  island  of  Mon- 
treal, burned,  sacked,  ravaged,  and  plundered  all 
the  surrounding  settlements,  up  even  to  the  very 
gates  of  the  city ;  slew  one  thousand  of  the  in- 
habitants, and  carrying  ofi'  twenty-six  captives, 


112  HISTORY    OF    NEW   YORK.  [1688. 

tortured  them  to  death  at  the  stake.  Not  con- 
tent with  this  terrible  retaliation,  they  returned 
again  to  the  island  in  October,  and  committed 
further  devastations  of  the  most  sanguinary  and 
harbarous  character.  Perfectly  paralyzed  with 
terror,  the  French  made  no  resistance  ;  and  the 
confederates,  gaining  increased  confidence  with 
success,  swept  over  the  whole  of  Canada,  carry- 
ing destruction  wherever  they  went.  Only  a  few 
fortified  places  remained,  and  these  owed  their 
safety  more  to  the  ignorance  of  the  savages  in 
the  art  of  attacking  them,  than  to  the  couraore  of 
their  respective  garrisons.  Of  the  neighbouring 
Indian  tribes,  only  two  remained  faithful  to  the 
French  in  their  adversity.  All  the  others  repu- 
diated their  alliance,  and  made  peace  with  the 
Iroquois  and  the  English.  Had  the  latter  ren- 
dered the  least  assistance  to  the  Five  Nations, 
the  whole  French  dominion  in  Canada  would  have 
been  at  an  end.  As  it  was,  the  cities  of  Quebec, 
Montreal,  and  Trois  Rivieres  alone  remained;  the 
whole  country  south  of  the  lakes  being  perma- 
nently conquered  by  the  confederated  warriors. 

During  the  progress  of  these  events,  great  po- 
litical changes  were  taking  place  in  the  provinces. 
The  attempt  of  James  II.  to  bring  about  a  resto- 
ration of  the  Catholic  religion,  had  rendered  him 
odious  to  the  English  people ;  and  the  birth  of  a 
son  in  1688,  having  destroyed  all  hope  of  a  Pro- 
testant succession,  William,  Prince  of  Orange,  the 


1689.]   WILLIAM  AND  MARY  PROCLAIMED.         113 

champion  of  Protestantism  in  Europe,  who  liad 
married  Mary,  the  eldest  daughter  of  James,  was 
invited  to  take  upon  himself  the  government  of 
the  kingdom.  Complying  with  the  popular  wish, 
William  landed  in  England  in  the  fall  of  1688, 
and  James,  deserted  even  by  his  own  children, 
was  compelled  to  take  refuge  in  France. 

The  news  of  this  great  Protestant  revolution 
reached  Boston  on  the  4th  of  April,  1689.  An- 
dros,  who  had  been  appointed  governor  of  that 
province,  was  immediately  deposed;  the  charter, 
of  which  he  had  deprived  the  people,  was  resumed ; 
and  the  aged  Bradstreet,  whom  Andros  had  su- 
perseded in  office,  reinstated  as  chief  magistrate. 
During  the  month  of  May,  Connecticut  followed 
the  example  of  Massachusetts,  deposed  the  royal 
governor,  and  re-elected  Robert  Treat.  Rhode 
Island  adopted  similar  measures.  Virginia  hesi- 
tated for  a  short  time,  but  at  length  proclaimed 
William  and  Mary  "Lord  and  Lady"  of  the  pro- 
vince. 

In  New  York,  the  tidings  occasioned  great  agi- 
tation. The  wise  and  politic  Dongan  having  been 
recalled  by  James,  a  short  time  previously,  the 
government  of  the  province  had  been  transferred 
into  the  hands  of  his  deputy  Francis  Nicholson. 
A  rumour  was  spread,  that  the  friends  of  the  de- 
posed king  intended  to  confirm  his  authority  by 
a  massacre  of  the  disafiected ;  a  fierce  popular 
excitement  was  created;  a  mob  paraded  the 
10* 


114  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1689. 

streets;  five  militia  companies,  the  only  military 
force  in  the  city,  surrounded  the  house  of  Jacob 
Leisler,  a  merchant,  and  their  senior  captain,  and 
demanded  that  he  should  place  himself  at  their 
head  and  seize  the  fort.  It  was  captured  on  the 
1st  of  June,  with  the  stores  and  public  money ; 
and  the  companies  took  upon  themselves  garrison 
duty  alternately.  Nicholson,  deprived  of  his  au- 
thority, sailed  for  England.  A  committee  of 
safety  was  immediately  formed,  and  Leisler  ap- 
pointed captain  of  the  fort,  with  gubernatorial 
powers,  until  such  time  as  an  officer,  duly  com- 
missioned, should  be  sent  from  England. 

After  proclaiming  William  and  Mary  at  the 
sound  of  the  trumpet,  Leisler  wrote  to  the  king, 
explaining  his  proceedings,  and  accounting  for 
the  use  he  had  made  of  the  money  found  in  the 
fort.  At  this  period,  Milbourne,  the  son-in-law 
of  Leisler,  a  man  of  great  energy  and  ambition, 
arrived  from  England,  and  was  made  secretary 
of  the  province.  The  old  council,  finding  it  im- 
possible to  resist,  with  any  hope  of  success,  the 
self-constituted  authorities  of  New  York,  retired 
to  Albany,  where  a  convention  was  held,  which 
proclaimed  allegiance  to  William  and  Maiy,  but 
rejected  the  authority  of  Le^ler,  and  refused 
to  surrender  the  fort  to  Milbourne,  who,  with 
an  insufficient  force,  had  been  sent  up  to  de- 
mand it. 

Soon  after  this,  a  letter  reached  New  York, 


1690.]      APPO"lNTMENT   OE   FKONTENAC.  115 

addressed  to  Nicholson,  or  in  the  event  of  his 
absence,  to  "such  as  for  the  time  being  take 
care  for  preserving  the  peace,  and  administering 
the  law  in  New  York."  In  this  letter  a  commis- 
sion as  governor  was  enclosed  for  Nicholson ;  but 
as  the  latter  had  already  sailed  for  -England, 
Leisler,  under  the  supposed  sanction  of  the  super- 
scription, continued  in  authority. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  disasters  of  Denonville 
in  Canada  had  led  to  his  recall,  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  Count  Frontenac  as  governor-general. 
Although  then  in  his  sixty-eighth  year,  Fronte- 
nac, within  a  few  days  after  his  landing  at  Que- 
bec, started  in  a  canoe  for  Montreal,  to  animate 
the  desponding  inhabitants,  and  renew  the  French 
alliances  with  the  neighbouring  Indian  tribes. 
This  was  the  more  necessary  as  the  French  mo- 
narch had  espoused  the  cause  of  the  exiled  James, 
and  had  declared  war  against  England.  Messen- 
gers were  also  sent  into  the  Iroquois  territory  to 
conciliate  the  friendship  of  the  Five  Nations.  A 
council  was  accordingly  held  on  the  22d  of  Janu- 
ary, 1690,  at  Onondaga,  at  which  eighty  chiefs 
of  the  confederated  cantons  were  present.  Du- 
ring the  conference  the  Indian  delegates  pro- 
fessed themselves  disposed  to  listen  to  terms  of 
peace,  but  evaded  the  desire  of  Frontenac  to  ne- 
gotiate a  treaty. 

Desirous,  by  a  display  of  energy  and  courage, 
to  force  the  proud  warriors  to  regard  an  alliance 


116  HISTOKY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1690. 

with  France  in  a  more  favourable  liglit,  Fronte- 
nac  determined  to  carry  the  war  into  the  English 
provinces. 

Three  separate  expeditions  were  accordingly 
organized,  the  first  of  which,  led  by  De  Mantet 
and  Sainte  Helene,  was  to  make  a  sudden  and 
unexpected  descent  upon  New  York.  The  second, 
led  by  Hertel,  was  to  surprise  the  settlement  at 
Salmon  Falls,  on  the  Piscataqua ;  while  the  third, 
commanded  by  Portneuf,  was  ordered  to  attack 
the  fort  and  settlement  at  Casco  Bay.  They 
were  all  successful.  The  war  party  under  De 
Mantet  and  Sainte  Helene,  and  consisting  of  one 
hundred  and  ten  French  and  Indians,  left  Mon- 
treal about  the  middle  of  January,  1690.  After 
a  march  of  twenty-two  days  over  the  frozen  sur- 
face of  the  wilderness,  during  which  they  subsist- 
ed upon  parched  corn,  and  such  game  as  could 
be  procured  by  their  hunters,  they  entered,  just 
before  midnight,  the  village  of  Schenectady,  on 
the  Mohawk  River.  Passing  within  the  pali- 
sades, the  gates  of  which  were  open  and  unguard- 
ed, they  divided  themselves  into  parties  of  six  or 
seven  each,  and  while  the  inhabitants  Avere  buried 
in  profound  slumber,  the  war-whoop  was  suddenly 
raised,  and  the  doors  of  the  houses  burst  forcibly 
opened.  An  indiscriminate  massacre  was  imme- 
diately commenced.  Men,  women,  and  children 
were  put  to  death  in  a  manner  too  barbarous  to 
relate.    The  whole  village  was  set  on  fire,  and  by 


1690.]       MASSACRE   AT   SCHENECTADY.  117 

the  flames,  the  rifle,  and  the  tomahawk,  sixty 
persons  perished,  and  twenty-seven  were  carried 
off  into  captivity.  Those  who  escaped  the  fury  of 
the  assailants,  fled,  half-clad,  through  a  driving 
snow,  toward  Albany,  twenty-five  of  whom  sub- 
sequently lost  their  limbs,  through  their  exposure 
to  the  severities  of  the  weather  during  that 
dreadful  night.  The  enemy  remained  in  posses- 
sion of  the  village  until  noon  the  following  day, 
when,  fearful  of  being  intercepted  on  their  return 
by  the  Iroquois,  they  retreated  hastily  into  Ca- 
nada. 

The  citizens  of  Albany,  alarmed  at  this  daring 
invasion,  and  weakened  by  internal  discord,  no 
longer  held  out  against  Milbourne,  who  was  ap- 
proaching a  second  time ;  but  passively  submitted 
the  fort  into  his  hands.  Unhappily,  the  province 
still  continued  to  be  torn  by  dissensions;  and 
while  the  popular  faction  clamorously  sustained 
the  measures  of  Leisler,  the  tory  or  aristocratic 
party  placed  themselves  in  direct  and  vehement 
opposition. 


118  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1690. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Invasion  of  Canada  resolved  upon — Failure  of  the  expedition — 
Arrival  of  Ingoldsby  at  New  York — The  fort  blockaded — Ar- 
rival of  Governor  Sloughter — Arrest  of  Leisler  and  his  coun- 
cil— Leisler  and  Milbourne  tried  and  sentenced  to  death — 
Their  execution — Appeal  to  the  king  by  the  son  of  Leisler — 
Report  of  the  commissioners — Appeal  to  parliament — Re- 
versal of  the  sentence  against  Leisler  and  Milbourne — Death 
of  Sloughter — Fletcher  appointed  governor — His  character — 
Frontenac  invades  the  country  of  the  Five  Nations — His 
march  from  Montreal — Falls  upon  the  Mohawk  villages — 
Returns  to  Canada — Activity  of  Schuyler — Of  Fletcher — 
His  popularity  with  the  Indians — Convention  at  Albany — 
Conduct  of  Fletcher  toward  the  provincial  assembly — Resist- 
ance of  the  latter — Activity  of  Frontenac — Invades  the  Onon- 
dagas — Torture  of  an  aged  chief — Meagre  results  of  the  ex- 
pedition. 

The  terrible  loss  effected  by  the  French  de- 
tachment upon  the  frontier  settlements,  proving 
to  the  English  provinces  the  necessity  of  united 
action,  a  convention  of  delegates  from  Massachu- 
setts and  Connecticut  was  held  at  Nevr  York,  on 
the  1st  of  May,  1690,  when  it  was  resolved  that 
a  force  of  nine  hundred  men,  from  Connecticut 
and  New  York,  should  march  overland  against 
Montreal ;  while  Massachusetts  despatched  a  fleet 
and  army  against  Quebec.  Both  expeditions 
proved  signally  unsuccessful.  A  disagreement 
between  the  leaders  occasioned  insubordination 
among  the  troops,  and  the  land  forces  separating, 


1691.]  ARRIVAL    OF    INGOLDSBY.  119 

returned  home,  exasperated  by  mutual  misunder- 
'  standings.  The  command  of  the  naval  expedition 
was  intrusted  to  Sir  William  Phipps.  He  sailed 
up  the  St.  Lawrence  with  a  fleet  of  thirty-two 
vessels,  and  anchoring  before  Quebec  on  the  18th 
of  October,  sent  a  messenger  to  Frontenac,  de- 
manding a  surrender  of  the  town.  "I'll  answer 
your  master  by  the  mouths  of  my  cannon,"  was 
the  reply  of  the  brave  old  governor.  Two  at- 
tempts were  immediately  made  to  land  below  the 
town,  but  they  were  both  repulsed  with  loss.  The 
forts  opening  their  fire  soon  after,  the  provincials 
were  compelled  to  abandon  the  assault  and  retire 
with  precipitation. 

In  January,  1691,  Ingoldsby  reached  New 
York,  from  England,  bearing  a  commission  as 
captain.  On  his  arrival  he  demanded  possession 
of  the  fort ;  but  Leisler  refused  to  give  it  up,  con- 
tending that  Ingoldsby  had  exhibited  no  order 
from  the  crown,  or  from  Sloughter,  who  was 
known  to  have  received  the  commission  of  gover- 
nor, though  he  had  not  yet  made  his  appearance 
in  the  province.  Irritated  at  finding  his  authority 
disputed,  Ingoldsby,  supported  by  the  royalists, 
blockaded  the  fort  with  his  troops,  and  issued 
a  proclamation  denouncing  the  governor  and 
his  garrison.  The  passions  of  the  militia  being 
aroused,  shots  were  exchanged  during  the  invest- 
ment, by  which,  greatly  to  the  grief  of  Leisler, 
several  lives  were  lost. 


120  HISTORY    OF   IS'EW   YORK.  [1691. 

On  the  lOtli  of  March,  Sloughter  reached  New 
York.  In  the  disordered  state  of  the  province, 
an  able  and  energetic  governor  would  have 
speedily  remedied  many  of  the  evils  which  had 
been  fostered  by  the  violence  of  contending  fac- 
tious. Sloughter  was  neither  able  nor  energetic ; 
but  licentious,  avaricious,  and  poor.  Prepossessed 
against  Leisler  before  his  ai'rival,  he  declined  to 
receive  his  messengers,  or  to  recognise  him  in 
any  other  light  than  as  an  usurper,  and  Ingoldsby 
was  at  once  ordered  to  arrest  the  obnoxious  go- 
vernor and  his  council.  Soon  after  their  arrest, 
a  special  court  was  organized  for  their  trials.  Six 
of  the  prisoners  were  found  guilty  of  treason,  but 
reprieved.  Leisler  and  Milbom-ne  denied  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  court,  and  appealed  to  the 
king.  Leisler  insisted  that  the  letter  addressed 
to  "such  as  for  the  time  being  take  care  for  pre- 
serving the  peace  and  administering  the  laws  in 
their  majesties'  province  of  New  York,"  justified 
his  retaining  the  office  of  lieutenant-governor; 
and  the  obsequious  judges  referred  the  ai-gument 
to  the  opinion  of  the  governor  and  council.  They 
decided  that  no  such  interpretation  could  be  put 
upon  the  superscription;  and  the  unfortunate 
governor  and  his  son-in-law  were  condemned  to 
death  for  high  treason.  One  hope  of  escape  from 
an  ignominious  death  yet  remained.  Sloughter 
had  pronounced  them  great  villains,  but  hesitated 


1691.]  EXECUTION   OF   LEISLEK..  .121 

•to  order  their  execution  until  the  pleasure  of  the 
king  should  be  made  known. 

The  friends  of  Leisler  boldly  defended  his  con- 
duct, and  denounced  the  malignity  of  his  enemies ; 
but  the  latter,  now  grown  numerous,  supported  as 
they  were  by  the  influence  of  the  new  governor, 
demanded  that  the  law  should  be  put  in  force.  In 
the  midst  of  these  disturbances  the  assembly  met. 
It  was  soon  found  to  be  composed  of  persons  at- 
tached to  the  aristocratic  faction,  and,  of  course, 
bitterly  hostile  to  Leisler  and  his  son-in-law.  A 
motion  was  made  for  their  reprieve ;  but  resolu- 
tions were  passed  on  the  17th  of  April,  1691, 
declaring  the  conduct  of  the  prisoners  illegal  and 
arbitrary,  and  imputing  to  their  usurpations  the 
burning  of  Schenectady,  and  the  ruin  of  various 
merchants.  The  council  then  demanded  of  Slouffh- 
ter  their  immediate  execution,  as  essential  to  the 
welfare  of  the  province.  As  the  governor  still 
hesitated,  the  enemies  of  Leisler  adopted  a  strata- 
gem to  effect  their  purpose.  A  dinner  party  was 
given,  to  which  the  governor  was  particularly  in- 
vited. While  he  was  under  the  influence  of  wine, 
he  was  cajoled  into  signing  the  death-warrants, 
and  before  he  recovered  his  senses  the  sentence 
was  carried  into  effect. 

On  the  16th  of  May,  in  the  midst  of  a  cold 
drizzling  rain,  the  prisoners  were  led  to  the  gal- 
lows, which  stood  outside  the  city  wall.  Guarded 
by  the  troops,  the  sad  procession  moved  on, 
11 


122  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1692. 

thronged  about  by  Tveeping  fi-iends,  and  exulting 
enemies.  "Weep  not  for  us,"  said  Leisler  to  the 
sorrowing  populace,  "we  are  going  to  our  God; 
but  weep  for  yourselves,  that  remain  behind  in 
misery  and  vexation."  The  handkerchief  was 
bound  about  his  face.  "I  hope,"  said  he,  "these 
eyes  shall  see  our  Lord  Jesus  in  heaven."  They 
were  his  last  words.  Milbourne's  were  not  less 
pathetic.  "I  die,"  he  exclaimed,  "for  the  king 
and  queen,  and  the  Protestant  religion  in  which 
I  was  born  and  bred.  Father,  into  thy  hands  I 
commit  my  spirit."  In  the  midst  of  torrents  of 
rain,  the  people  rushed  forward  to  obtain  some 
memento  of  their  leaders. 

The  appeal  to  the  king,  which  Leisler  had  not 
been  permitted  to  take,  was  prosecuted  by  his 
son.  It  was  referred  to  the  Lords  Commissioners 
of  Trade,  who,  after  a  patient  hearing,  decided,  on 
the  11th  of  March,  that  the  "  deceased  were  con- 
demned and  had  suffered  according  to  law;"  but 
declared  their  families  to  be  fit  objects  of  royal 
compassion.  The  report  was  approved,  but  the 
estates  of  the  victims  of  party  Animosity  were 
ordered  to  be  restored  to  their  families.  Not 
satisfied  with  this  decision,  the  friends  of  Leisler 
appealed  to  parliament  for  redress,  and  in  1695, 
the  petition  being  strongly  supported  by  Sir  Wil- 
liam Ashurst  and  Constantino  Phipps,  an  act  was 
passed  by  which  the  attainder  was  reversed. 
Three  years  subseauent  to  this,  the  bodies  of  Leis- 


1692.]       COLONEL  FLETCHER.  123 

ler  and  Milbourne  were  disinterred,  and  after 
lying  in  state  with  great  pomp  for  several  days, 
were  reburied  in  the  old  Dutch  church. 

The  judicial  murder  of  these  popular  leaders 
led  to  a  result  widely  different  from  that  which 
had  been  anticipated  by  their  enemies.  The 
principles  they  had  espoused  and  supported  were 
only  implanted  deeper  in  the  minds  of  the  people. 
Out  of  this  signal  act  of  tyranny  grew  a  hatred 
of  oppression,  and  an  abhorrence  of  the  royalist, 
or  aristocratic  party,  which  gradually  gained 
ground  in  the  midst  of  fierce  animosities,  and 
finally  ended  in  the  triumphant  assertion  of 
popular  rights. 

The  war  with  Canada  still  continued,  sustained 
principally  by  the  efforts  of  the  Mohawks  under 
Schuyler.  But  the  vigorous  energy,  foresight,  and 
activity  of  Count  Frontenac,  were  more  than  a 
match  for  the  feeble  and  ill-conducted  attempts 
made  against  him  by  the  English  provinces.  Af- 
ter an  inefficient  and  distracted  administration 
of  four  months,  Sloughter  died,  and  in  the  ab- 
sence of  Dudley,  the  president  of  the  council,  the 
control  of  affairs  was  committed  to  Captain  In- 
goldsby. 

In  September,  1692,  Colonel  Benjamin  Fletch- 
er, a  man  of  strong  passions,  feeble  talents,  ac- 
tive, and  avaricious,  arrived,  as  governor,  bringing 
with  him  presents  for  the  Indians,  military  sup- 
plies, and  an  addition  of  two  companies  of  sol- 


124  HISTORY   OF   NE^Y   YORK.  [1693. 

diers.  Fortunately  for  his  subsequent  conduct 
of  Indian  affairs,  Fletcher  early  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Major  Schuyler,  who  had  succeeded 
to  the  influence  which  old  Corlear  once  exercised 
over  the  Iroquois,  and  from  whom  the  English 
governors  were  subsequently  entitled  "Corlear" 
by  the  Indians.  Major  Schuyler,  or  '-Quidder," 
as  the  Mohawks  called  him — for  they  could  not 
pronounce  his  Christian  name  of  Peter — was  a 
brave,  active,  intelligent,  and  humane  man;  and 
his  unbounded  authority  over  the  wild  tribes  on 
the  frontier,  rendered  him  eminently  serviceable 
to  the  governor,  who  judiciously  admitted  him  of 
his  council. 

During  the  period  that  Fletcher  was  reorgan- 
izing his  government,  and  creating  various  issues 
with  the  assembly.  Count  Frontenac  was  busily 
preparing  for  an  expedition  against  the  Five  Na- 
tions. On  the  loth  of  January,  1693,  he  set  out 
from  Montreal,  with  a  force  of  seven  hundred 
French  and  Indians,  and  passing  Schenectady  on 
the  6th  of  February,  entered  the  first  fortified 
village  of  the  Mohawks  the  same  night,  and  cap- 
tured five  men,  and  a  few  women  and  children. 
Most  of  the  warriors  of  that  nation  being  at  this 
time  on  a  visit  to  Schenectady,  a  second  village 
was  captured  equally  bloodlessly ;  but  at  the  third, 
about  forty  Indians  were  surprised  during  a  war 
dance,  and  a  battle  ensued,. in  which  the  French 
were  victorious,  though  not  until  after  they  had 


1693.]        FRENCH  INVASION.  125 

sustained  a  loss  of  forty  men.  Satisfied  witli  his 
success  in  this  sudden  foray,  Frontenac  now  set 
off  on  his  return  to  Canada,  bearing  with  him 
about  three  hundred  captives. 

The  tidings  of  this  invasion  was  no  sooner 
kno"\vn  to  the  Mohawks  at  Schenectady,  than  they 
called  upon  the  inhabitants  to  assist  them  in  pur- 
suing the  retiring  enemy.  The  people  were  timid, 
and  hesitated,  much  to  the  anger  of  their  savage 
allies ;  but  their  cowardice  was  atoned  for  by  the 
activity  of  Schuyler,  who  hastened  to  the  relief 
of  his  friends,  at  the  head  of  two  hundred  men. 
Being  joined  on  the  15th  of  February  by  three 
hundred  Indians,  he  followed  in  pursuit  of  the 
foe,  sending  back  to  Albany  for  reinforcements 
and  provisions.  On  the  17th  he  came  up  with 
the  rear  guard  of  the  French,  and  a  series  of  tri- 
fling skirmishes  ensued.  Two  days  afterward, 
his  force  being  increased  by  the  arrival  of  eighty 
regulars,  with  the  much  needed  supply  of  provi- 
sions, Schuyler  resumed  the  pursuit;  but  the 
enemy  had  taken  advantage  of  the  delay,  and 
succeeded  in  reaching  the  north  branch  of  the 
Hudson,  through  a  driving  snow  storm.  Provisions 
again  falling  so  short  that  the  Indians  were  com- 
pelled to  subsist  upon  the  dead  bodies  of  the  ene- 
my, all  further  advance  was  rendered  impossible, 
and  Schuyler  returned  to  Albany,  after  having 
retaken  about  fifty  of  the  captives. 

The  activity  of  Fletcher  on  this  occasion  gained 
11* 


126  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1693. 

him  great  credit  "with  the  Fh*e  Nations.  He  no 
sooner  heard  of  the  approach  of  the  French,  than 
emharking  with  three  hundred  volunteers,  he 
landed  at  Albany,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  miles  from  New  York,  within  five  days. 
He  was  too  late  to  be  of  any  service,  but  his  zeal 
gratified  the  Indians,  who  bestowed  upon  him  the 
name  of  "Cayenguirago,"  or  the  Great  Swift 
Arrow. 

Reinforcements  of  troops  and  munitions  of  war 
reaching  Canada  from  France  soon  after  this  in- 
road, the  Oneidas  sued  for  peace,  and  even  the 
faithful  Mohawks  wavered.  To  prevent  the  other 
nations  of  the  Iroquois  from  submitting  to  the 
energetic  Frontenac,  and  to  confirm  them  in  their 
old  alliance  with  the  English,  Fletcher  met  the 
chiefs  of  the  Five  Nations  at  Albany,  in  July, 
1693,  where  he  distributed  the  presents  with 
which  he  had  been  intrusted,  and  renewed  the 
ancient  covenant.  This  attention  was  well-timed, 
and  the  Indians  expressed  their  gratitude.  "Bro- 
ther Cayenguirago,"  said  they,  "we  roll  and 
wallow  in  joy,  because  of  the  great  favour  your 
king  and  queen  have  done  us,  in  sending  us  arms 
and  ammunition,  at  a  time  when  we  are  in  the 
greatest  need  of  them." 

But  if  Governor  Fletcher  succeeded  in  ac- 
quiring the  afiections  of  the  Indians,  he  failed  in 
inspiring  any  attachment,  either  to  his  person  or 
government,  on  the  part  of  the  provincial  assem- 


1695.]  DISSENSIONS.  127 

bly.  With  the  latter  he  was  coarse,  passionate, 
and  overbearing ;  and  the  liberal  principles  which 
"were  rapidly  spreading  throughout  the  colony, 
were  met  by  him  with  the  most  pointed  and 
vigorous  rebukes.  "There  are  none  of  you," 
said  he,  "but  what  are  big  with  the  privileges  of 
Englishmen  and  Magna  Charta."  Having  desired 
them  to  provide  for  a  ministry  in  each  precinct 
throughout  the  province,  a  scheme  was  at  length 
agreed  upon,  which  was  transmitted  to  him  for 
his  approval.  He  returned  it  with  an  amend- 
ment, vesting  in  himself  the  power  of  inducting 
every  incumbent.  The  house  refusing  to  accept 
the  additional  clause,  Fletcher  summoned  the 
members  before  him,  and  in  a  fit  of  passion  pro- 
rogued the  assembly.  "You  take  upon  you  as  if 
you  were  dictators,"  said  he. 

The  dissensions  between  the  governor  and  suc- 
ceeding assemblies  increased  in  violence,  until  at 
length,  in  1695,  it  broke  out  into  an  open  rup- 
ture. 

While  Fletcher  was  thus  contending  with  the 
people  in  the  assertion  of  their  rights,  Frontenac 
was  rebuilding  the  fort  at  Cadaracqui,  which  was 
called  after  his  name. 

The  continual  alarms  to  Avhich  the  province  of 
New  York  had  been  subjected  by  the  unceasing 
activity  of  a  bold  and  enterprising  enemy,  led  to 
the  project  of  calling  upon  the  several  colonies 
for  assistance.    The  demand  made  upon  each  was 


128  HISTORY    OF    NEW    YORK.  [1696. 

proportioned  according  to  wealtli  and  population, 
but  it  was  only  partially  responded  to. 

Unsuccessful  in  his  efforts  to  form  a  treaty  of 
peace  with  the  Five  Nations,  Frontenac  had  no 
sooner  strengthened  the  fort  at  Cadaracqui,  than 
he  determined  upon  an  invasion  of  the  Iroquois 
territory  with  all  the  regulars  and  militia  under 
his  command.  Accompanied  by  a  large  force  of 
friendly  Indians,  he  left  Montreal  in  July,  1696. 
The  vanguard  of  this  imposing  army  was  com- 
posed of  two  battalions  of  regulars,  under  De 
Callieres,  and  a  scouting  force  of  Indians.  The 
main  body  consisted  of  a  large  party  of  volun- 
teers, and  four  battalions  of  militia,  commanded 
by  De  Ramezai,  the  governor  of  Trois  Rivieres. 
Tavo  battalions  of  regulars  and  a  small  number  of 
Indians  brought  up  the  rear.  So  formidable  a 
military  force  had  never  before  been  seen  upon 
Lake  Ontario.  Crossing  to  Oswego,  the  army  re- 
embarked  upon  Oneida  Lake,  and  separating  into 
two  divisions,  coasted  both  shores,  to  deceive  the 
Indians  in  regard  to  the  point  where  the  landing 
■was  to  be  effected.  Entering  the  country  of  the 
Onondagas,  the  latter  at  first  prepared  to  defend 
themselves ;  but  on  being  apprized  of  the  strength 
of  the  French,  they  set  fire  to  their  village,  and 
retired  deeper  into  the  forest. 

Learning  that  the  savages  were  flying  before 
him,  Frontenac,  borne  in  an  elbow  chair  in  the 
rear  of  the  artillery,  pressed  forward  and  entered 


•1699.]  PEACE.  129 

the  deserted  village.  One  aged  chief  alone  re- 
mained within  the  rude  fortification  to  receive 
them.  He  was  at  once  delivered  over  to  the 
French  Indians  to  be  put  to  death.  Although 
upward  of  one  hundred  years  old,  he  bore 
the  tortures  they  inflicted  upon  him  with  the 
most  unflinching  firmness.  Exasperated  by  his 
stoical  indiflerence,  one  of  the  savages  at  length 
stabbed  him  with  a  knife.  "You  had  better," 
said  he,  "let  me  die  by  fire,  that  these  French 
dogs  may  learn  to  die  like  men.  You  Indians, 
you  dogs  of  dogs,  think  of  me  when  you  are  in  a 
'like  condition." 

The  death  of  this  one  aged  and  heroic  Onon- 
daga was  the  only  result  of  an  invasion  which 
threatened  the  entire  extermination  of  the  Iro- 
quois. 

As  soon  as  Frontenac  commenced  his  return  to 
Canada,  the  Onondagas  harassed  his  rear,  and 
succeeded  in  cutting  off  several  of  his  batteaux. 
A  desultory  warfare  followed,  which  was  termi- 
nated in  1699  by  the  peace  of  Ryswick. 


/ 


130  HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK.  [1698. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Arrival  of  Bellamont — Ordered  to  suppress  piracy  on  the  coast 
— Fletcher  discountenanced — Exultation  of  the  popular  party 
— Captain  Kidd  commissioned  to  apprehend  the  pirates — 
Turns  pirate  himself — Appears  in  Boston — Is  arrested  and 
sent  to  England  for  trial — Commotion  in  England — Address 
of  Bellamont  to  the  assembly — His  popularity — Engages  in 
a  controversy  with  Frontenac — French  treaty  with  the  In- 
dians— Law  passed  by  the  assembl}-  against  Roman  Catholic 
priests — Death  of  Bellamont — Nanfan  lieutenant-governor — 
Appointment  of  Cornbury — His  character — Attaches  himself 
to  the  Royalists — Is  granted  a  donation — Second  intercolonial 
war — Money  appropriated  for  fortifying  the  Narrows — Em- 
bezzled by  Cornbur}'^ — Difficulties  with  the  assembly — Dis- 
trust of  Cornbury — His  profligate  career — Petitions  for  his 
recall — Arrival  of  Lord  Lovelace — Cornbury  arrested  for  debt 
— His  return  to  England. 

O^nT  the  ISth  of  June,  1697,  Richard,  Earl  of 
Bellamont,  received  a  commission  as  Governor 
of  New  York ;  but  meeting  on  his  voyage  with 
contrary  winds,  did  not  arrive  in  the  province 
until  the  2d  of  April,  1698.  Having  been  one 
of  the  committee  to  which  was  intrusted  an  ex- 
amination into  the  conduct  of  the  party  by  which 
Leisler  and  Milbourne  had  been  sacrificed,  he  was 
already  tolerably  well  informed  in  relation  to  the 
affairs  of  the  province.  As  his  commission  em- 
braced also  the  provinces  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
and  New  Hampshire,  in  order  that  he  might  be 
enabled  the  more  eifectually  to  suppress  the  piracy 


1698.]      BELLAMONT  GOVERNOR.         131 

■which  had  for  a  long  time  been  notoi'iously  en- 
couraged on  the  coasts  of  North  America,  he 
brought  over  with  him  his  kinsman,  John  Nanfan, 
as  lieutenant-governor  of  New  York. 

The  administration  of  Fletcher  had  given  as 
little  satisfaction  in  England  as  it  had  in  the  pro- 
vince over  which  he  had  exercised  the  authority 
of  governor.  The  impunity  with  which  the  buc- 
caneers had  visited  the  harbour  of  New  York  was 
impute^  to  his  encouragement  and  connivance. 
Bellamont,  an  able  and  upright  man,  soon  exhi- 
bited his  abhorrence  of  such  proceedings,  by  re- 
garding Fletcher  and  his  adherents  with  disfavour. 
Elated  at  finding  themselves  once  more  under  an 
executive  who  was  disposed  to  consult  the  good 
of  the  province,  rather  than  the  elevation  of  an 
aristocratic  faction,  the  popular  party  hailed  his 
administration  with  delight;  and  the  friends  of 
the  murdered  Leisler,  favoured  by  Bellamont, 
soon  found  themselves  in  a  majority,  both  in  the 
council  and  in  the  assembly. 

In  view  of  his  orders  to  suppress  piracy  in 
America,  Bellamont,  previous  to  his  leaving 
England,  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Robert 
Livingston,  who  recommended  that  the  appre- 
hension of  the  pirates  should  be  intrusted  to 
Captain  Kidd,  a  shipmaster  of  New  York,  who 
was  well  acquainted  with  their  haunts,  and  whom 
he  vouched  for  as  a  man  of  courage  and  integri- 
ty.   The  proposal  was  submitted  to  the  king ;  but 


132  HISTOKY   OF   XEW   YOEK.  [1698, 

as  all  the  vessels  in  the  royal  nayj  were  required 
to  operate  against  the  French,  for  the  war  had  not 
then  closed,  the  project  could  not  be  entertained 
by  the  Admiralty.   Livingston  then  proposed  the 
formation  of  a  company,  to  be  indemnified  out  of 
the  recaptures,   and  offered  to  defray  the  fifth 
part  of  the  cost  and  charges  of  a  vessel,  and  to 
enter  into  bonds  for  the  faithful  performance  of 
his  commission  by  Kidd.    To  evince  his  approval 
of  the  design,  the  king  took  a  tenth  share  him- 
self, and  Somers,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  the  Duke 
of  Shrewsbm-y,  the  Earls  of  Romney,  Oxford, 
and  others  joined  in  the  adventure,  and  raised 
the  sum  of  six  thousand  pounds  to  carry  it  into 
effect.    In  April,  1696,  Kidd,  duly  commissioned,     ' 
sailed  for  Plymouth;  but  turning  pirate  himself,     ! 
carried  the  vessel  into  the  eastern  seas,  where  he     ; 
committed  great  depredations.     After  securing 
the  wealth  thus  villanously  acquired,  he  burned 
his  ship,  and  returning  to  America,  took  up  his     ■ 
residence  at  Boston.     At  this  place,  in  1698,     ; 
he  was  arrested  by  Bellamont,  who  having  ad- 
vised the  English  government  of  the  capture,     I 
a  man-of-war  was  sent  over  to  convey  the  prisoner 
to  England.     Being  driven  back  to  port  in  a 
storm,  a  rumour  was  spread  that  the  ministry^    | 
then  in  power  were  in  collusion  with  the  bucca-     I 
neers,  and  were  afraid  to  have  Kidd  brought  back 
to  England,   lest  he  should  implicate  the  whig 
lords  as  having  confederated  with  him  for  pirati- 


1698.]         ADDRESS   TO   THE   ASSEMBLY.  133 

cal  purposes.  These  suspicions  becoming  gene- 
ral, a  motion  was  made  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
that  all  who  had  been  concerned  in  the  original 
adventure  with  Kidd,  should  be  deprived  of  their 
offices  under  the  government.  This  motion  being 
lost  by  a  large  majority,  several  of  the  adven- 
turers were  next  impeached  in  the  House  of  Lords. 
They  were  soon  after  put  upon  their  trial,  and 
from  the  facts  then  elicited,  were  honourably  ac- 
quitted, by  their  peers. 

The  first  assembly  convened  by  Bellamont,  met 
on  the  18th  of  May.  In  his  opening  address,  the 
new  governor  pointed  out  the  disorderly  condition 
into  which  the  province  had  fallen  through  the 
culpable  negligence,  favouritism,  and  covetous 
spirit  of  his  predecessor.  Reminding  the  mem- 
bers that  the  revenue  required  to  be  provided  for, 
he  added:  "It  would  be  hard  if  I,  that  come 
among  you  with  an  honest  mind,  and  a  resolution 
to  be  just  to  your  interest,  should  meet  with 
greater  difficulties  in  the  discharge  of  his  majes- 
ty's service  than  those  who  have  gone  before  me. 
I  will  take  care  that  there  shall  be  no  misapplica- 
tion of  the  public  money.  I  will  pocket  none  of 
it  myself,  nor  shall  there  be  any  embezzlement 
by  others ;  but  exact  accounts  shall  be  given  you, 
when,  and  as  often  as  you  require." 

The  custom  adopted  by  Fletcher  of  influencing 

elections  by  his  personal  presence,  was  firmly 

discountenanced  by  Bellamont,  who  recommended 
12  . 


134  HISTORY    OF   NEW   YORK.  [1699. 

the  assembly  to  provide  by  law  for  the  reforma- 
tion of  such  abuses.  Confident  that  they  had  at 
length  obtained  a  governor  sincerely  desirous  of 
promoting  the  general  welfare  of  the  province, 
the  members  of  the  assembly  passed  a  warm  ad- 
dress of  thanks  for  his  speech;  but  were  soon 
after  engaged  in  controversies  among  themselves, 
which  led  to  the  secession  of  six  of  the  delegates, 
and  obliged  Bellamont  to  dissolve  the  house  on 
the  14th  of  June. 

During  the  year  1699,  the  governor  was  en- 
gaged in  a  spirited  correspondence  with  Count 
Frontenac,  relative  to  the  exchange  of  prisoners 
consequent  upon  the  peace*  of  Ryswick.  Bella- 
mont included  in  his  demand  the  Indians  detained 
in  captiWty  in  Canada,  claiming  their  Hberty  as 
British  subjects.  Frontenac  insisted  upon  con- 
sidering the  Five  Nations  as  independent,  and 
therefore  not  subject  to  the  provisions  of  the  late 
treaty.  Bellamont  persevered  in  demanding  their 
release,  and  threatened  to  recommence  the  war 
if  his  claim  was  not  admitted.  "If  it  is  neces- 
sary," he  wrote,  "I  will  arm  every  man  in  the 
provinces  under  my  government  to  oppose  you, 
and  redress  the  injury  that  you  may  perpetrate 
against  our  Indians." 

While  the  dispute  was  pending  Frontenac  died ; 
and  De  Callieres,  his  successor,  terminated  the 
difiiculty  by  treating  with  the  Iroquois  in  person, 
without  admitting  the  right  of  the  British  gover- 


1700.]  FEELING   AGAINST    PRIESTS.  135 

nor  to  intermediate.  When  the  French  commis- 
sioners reached  Onondaga  to  perfect  the  treaty, 
they  Avere  met  outside  of  the  palisades  by  De- 
canesora,  an  Iroquois  chief,  who  presented  them 
with  three  belts  of  wampum.  "By  the  first," 
said  he,  "we  wipe  away  your  tears  for  the 
French  who  have  been  slain  in  the  war ;  by  the 
second,  we  open  your  mouths  that  you  may  speak 
freely;  and  by  the  third,  we  clear  the  mat  on 
which  you  are  to  sit,  from  the  blood  which  has 
been  spilled  on  both  sides."  The  commissioners 
in  attendance  from  Albany  were  then  invited  to 
witness  the  conference  that  ensued ;  and  when 
Bruyes,  a  Jesuit,  expressed  a  desire  to  remain  in 
the  nation,  the  chiefs,  true  to  their  old  allegiance, 
replied  coldly:  "We  have  already  accepted  Cor- 
lear's  belt,  by  which  he  offers  pastors  to  instruct 
us." 

The  virulent  hatred  inspired  by  the  influence 
which  the  French  missionaries  exerted  over  the 
minds  of  the  Indians,  strongly  exhibited  itself  in 
New  York,  during  the  summer  of  1700,  when  the 
assembly  passed  an  act  for  the  hanging  of  every 
Roman  Catholic  priest  that  came  voluntarily  into 
the  province. 

Respected  by  the  people,  and  in  harmony  with 
his  council  and  the  assembly,  the  latter  exhibited 
their  confidence  in  the  integrity  of  the  governor 
by  voting  a  revenue  for  six  years,  and  placing  it 
in  his  hands  for  disbursement.     Notwithstanding 


136  HISTORY   OF   K^EW   YORK.  [1702. 

this  honoiu'able  proof  of  popular  confidence,  the 
activity  of  Bellamont  iu  preventing  any  violation 
of  the  navigation  acts,  made  him  many  enemies 
among  the  merchants  of  the  province,  who,  re- 
garding those  laws  as  oppressive  and  unjust,  had 
heretofore  been  accustomed  to  violate  them  with 
impunity.  The  display  of  ill-feeling  occasioned 
by  these  differences  ceased  only  with  the  death 
of  the  governor,  which  took  place  suddenly  on  the 
5th  of  March,  1701. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Lieutenant-governor 
Nanfan,  during  whose  brief  administration  a 
court  of  chancery  was  organized,  and  a  Protes- 
tant minister,  paid  by.  the  province,  dii'ected  to 
devote  his  services  to  the  instruction  of  the  In- 
dians. Unhappily,  party  animosities  also  revived 
at  this  time,  which  led  to  acts  of  violence  and 
disorder.  Livingston  and  Bayard,  the  leaders  of 
the  anti-Leislerian  faction,  were  treated  with 
great  harshness  by  the  popular  party  then  in 
power,  and  the  result  would  in  all  probability 
have  ended  seriously  to  the*  latter,  but  for  the 
arrival,  in  1702,  of  the  needy  and  unprincipled 
Cornbury,  as  governor  of  the  two  provinces  of 
New  York  and  New  Jersey. 

Claiming  kindred  with  royalty,  weak-minded, 
arrogant,  and  vicious,  Cornbury  immediately 
united  himself  to  the  aristocratic  faction,  which, 
strengthened  by  his  powerful  support,  soon  ac- 
quired a  majority  in  the  assembly.    To  his  open- 


1703.]      EMBEZZLEMENT    BY    CORNBURY.  137 

ing  address  the  members  heartily  responded  by 
providing  an  annual  revenue  for  seven  years,  by 
voting  him  a  donation  of  two  thousand  pounds  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  his  voyage,  and  by  in- 
creasing his  annual  salary  to  twelve  hundred 
pounds. 

War  having  been  proclaimed  by  England 
against  France  and  Spain,  on  the  4th  of  May, 
1702,  the  assembly,  which  met  in  April,  1703, 
granted  an  appropriation  of  fifteen  hundred 
pounds  for  the  erection  of  two  batteries  at  the 
Narrows.  But  though  it  was  distinctly  specified 
that  the  money  should  be  appropriated  "for  no 
other  use  whatever,"  his  lordship  neglected  to 
build  the  fortifications.  Dishonest  and  extrava- 
gant, he  drew  the  amount  from  the  treasury  by 
his  warrants,  and  applied  it  to  his  private  pur- 
poses. 

To  guard  against  any  misapplication  of  the 
public  funds  in  future,  the  assembly  of  1704  re- 
fused to  make  any  further  appropriations  until 
the  previous  grant  was  accounted  for.  Angry 
discussions  followed.  The  members  asserted  their 
rights,  and  Cornbury  responded  haughtily,  by 
saying:  "I  know  of  no  rights  that  you  have  as 
an  assembly  but  such  as  the  queen  is  pleased  to 
allow  you." 

A  treaty  of  neutrality  existing  between  the 
French  in  Canada  and  the  Five  Nations,  there 
was  in  reality  no  pressing  necessity  for  voting  the 

12* 


138  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1708. 

sums  of  money  -wliicli  Cornbury  was  repeatedly 
soliciting;  but  when,  in  1705,  a  French  privateer 
entered  the  harbour  of  New  York,  the  alarm  into 
which  the  province  was  thrown,  induced  the 
assembly  to  pass  bills  for  raising  an  amount  suf- 
ficient to  defray  the  expenses  of  fortifications, 
and  a  corps  of  scouts  and  rangers,  to  be  stationed 
on  the  frontiers. 

Warned  by  the  previous  embezzlements,  not  to 
trust  the  public  funds  in  the  hands  of  the  gover- 
nor, they  agreed  to  sanction  the  grant  only  upon 
the  condition  that  it  should  be  disbursed  by  a 
treasurer  appointed  by  themselves.  To  this  Corn- 
bury  reluctantly  assented,  and  the  arrangement 
was  subsequently  permitted  by  the  English  go- 
vernment, but  only  so  far  as  it  applied  to  specific 
appropriations.  The  firm  and  decided  stand 
taken  by  the  assembly  on  this  occasion,  led  to  its 
sudden  prorogation. 

In  1706  the  house  was  again  called  together; 
but  the  members  being  found  equally  intractable, 
a  dissolution  speedily  took  place.  No  further 
session  was  convened  until  1708,  and  in  the  mean 
time,  the  profligate  career  of  Cornbiu-y  had  ren- 
dered him  odious  to  all  parties.  He  had  been 
rebuked  for  his  tyrannical  interference  in  matters 
of  religion,  for  his  peculations  in  oflSce,  and  for 
his  exaction  of  illegal  fees,  and  no  longer  was 
any  confidence  placed  either  in  his  honour  or  his 
honesty.   For  some  time  he  endeavoured  to  main- 


1709.]  CORNBURY    RECALLED.  13& 

tain  his  authority  by  a  greater  display  of  im- 
periousness  and  arrogance;  but  falling  deeply 
into  debt,  he  suffered  himself  to  be  humbled  by 
the  assembly  whose  rights  he  had  so  haughtily 
disputed,  and  became  contemptible  in  the  eyes 
of  the  people,  by  parading  the  fort  dressed  in  the 
clothes  of  a  woman,  and  by  similar  acts  of  reck- 
lessness and  folly. 

Disgusted  alike  with  his  antics  and  his  knavery, 
the  public  indignation  at  length  vented  itself  in 
clamorous  petitions  for  his  recall.  Their  efforts 
were  successful;  and  in  1709,  Lord  Lovelace 
arrived  at  New  York  commissioned  to  supersede 
Cornbury  in  the  government  of  the  province. 
Losing  with  his  office  his  immunity  from  arrest, 
Cornbury  had  no  sooner  recognised  the  commis- 
sion of  his  successor,  than  his  creditors  threw 
him  into  the  custody  of  the  sheriff  of  New  York, 
where  he  remained  until  he  succeeded,  by  the 
death  of  his  father,  to  the  earldom  of  Clarendon. 
He  then  returned  to  England,  bearing  with  him 
the  unenviable  distinction  of  having  been  one  of 
the  worst  provincial  governors  that  had  ever  re 
ceiv§d  an  appointment  from  the  English  crown. 


140  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1709. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Lovelace  demands  of  the  assembly  a  permanent  revenue — An 
annual  grant  substituted — Death  of  Lovelace — Administra- 
tion of  Ingoldsby — Abortive  attempt  to  invade  Canada — Dis- 
content of  New  York — Address  to  Queen  Anne — Colonel 
Schuyler  repairs  to  England,  accompanied  by  five  Mohawk 
chiefs — Reception  of  the  latter  in  London — Their  interview 
with  the  Queen — Governor  Hunter  arrives  at  New  York — 
The  assembly  refractory — Expedition  against  Canada — Its 
shameful  failure — Activity  of  De  Vandreuil — The  provincial 
troops-disbanded — Indignation  of  England  and  the  colonies — 
Charges  brought  against  St.  John  and  Harcourt — Contro- 
versy between  Hunter  and  the  assembly  in  relation  to  a  per- 
manent revenue — The  point  carried  by  the  governor — Gloomy 
condition  of  the  province — Negro  insurrection — Peace  of 
Utrecht — Permanent  revenue  granted — Hunter's  popularity 
— His  return  to  England. 

The  first  assembly  convened  by  Lord  Lovelace 
met  in  April,  1709.  In  bis  opening  address  to 
tbe  members,  he  demanded,  on  behalf  of  the 
crown,  tbe  grant  of  a  pei'manent  revenue,  the 
discharge  of  the  debts  of  the  provincial  govern- 
ment, and,  for  his  own  satisfaction,  a  full  exami- 
nation of  the  public  accounts,  in  order  that  he 
might  be  exonerated  from  debts  which  were  not 
of  his  contracting. 

The  assembly  responded  by  congratulating 
Lovelace  on  his  arrival  among  them,  and  by 
assuring  him  of  their  desire  to  consult  the  good 


1709.]        CANADA  INVADED.  141 

of  the  country  and  his  satisfaction ;  but  as  the 
loose  and  unprincipled  conduct  of  Cornbury  had 
taught  them  the  policy  of  retaining  in  their  own 
hands  an  entire  control  over  the  appropriations, 
they  declined  voting  any  more  moneys  than  were 
necessary  for  the  annual  support  of  the  govern- 
ment. 

As  this  placed  the  governor  and  the  other  ser- 
vants of  the  crown  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the 
assembly,  there  is  no  doubt  that  Lovelace  would 
have  resisted  an  innovation  by  which  his  preroga- 
tive was  restricted  within  such  narrow  limits  ;  but 
having  contracted  a  disorder  in  crossing  the  ferry 
at  New  York,  on  his  first  arrival  in  the  province, 
he  died  the  5th  of  May,  1709,  while  the  assembly 
was  in  session,  and  was  succeeded  by  Richard 
Ingoldsby,  the  lieutenant-governor. 

The  brief  administration  of  Ingoldsby  was  only 
remarkable  for  another  abortive  attempt  to  in- 
vade Canada,  for  which  large  preparations  had 
been  made  by  New  York  and  the  New  England 
provinces. 

The  design  being  to  co-operate  with  a  strong 
British  fleet,  in  a  simultaneous  attack  upon  Que- 
bec and  Montreal,  troops  from  Massachusetts, 
Bhode  Island,  and  New  Hampshire,  assembled  at 
Boston,  and  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  promised 
squadron,  while  the  quotas  of  New  Y^ork,  New 
Jersey,  and  Connecticut,  numbering  some  fifteen 
hundred  men,  marched  to  Wood  Creek,  near  the 


142  HISTOKY   OP   NEW   YORK.  [1709. 

head  of  Lake  Champlain,  where  they  erected  for- 
tifications, and  stored  their  provisions. 

As  usual,  unforeseen  obstacles  occurred.  Just 
as  the  expedition  was  about  to  set  sail  from  Eng- 
land, an  alarming  defeat,  suffered  by  the  Portu- 
guese, rendered  it  necessary  for  the  British 
ministry  to  despatch  the  fleet  and  troops  intended 
for  America,  to  the  support  of  their  ancient  ally. 
Deeply  mortified  at  having  been  thus  foiled  in  the 
prosecution  of  a  favourite  project,  the  colonial 
levies  were  recalled  and  disbanded. 

New  York  was  particularly  disconcerted  at  this 
unexpected  result.  The  province  had  been  lavish 
of  its  means  to  make  the  invasion  as  effective  as 
possible.  The  expenses  it  had  incurred  amounted 
to  twenty  thousand  pounds.  Besides  maintaining 
its  quota  of  volunteer  and  independent  companies, 
it  had  enlisted  six  hundred  Iroquois  warriors,  and 
supported  at  Albany,  during  the  period  of  their 
absence,  one  thousand  of  their  wives  and  children. 

Disappointed  at  the  failure  of  an  enterprise 
upon  the  success  of  which  the  security  of  the 
frontiers  so  much  depended,  the  assembly  declined 
to  assist  in  an  attack  upon  Acadia,  which  was 
agreed  upon  soon  after,  during  a  congress  of 
colonial  governors  held  at  Newport,  in  Rhode 
Island.  Believing  that  in  the  spread  of  the 
French  from  the  region  of  Canada  westward,  the 
greatest  danger  was  to  be  apprehended  by  the 
British  colonies,  the  assembly,  in  the  month  of 


1710.]         SCHUYLER   VISITS   ENGLAND.  143 

October,  1709,  drew  up  an  address  to  the  queen, 
setting  forth  their  views  upon  the  subject. 

"It  is  well  known,"  they  wrote,  "that  the 
French  can  go  by  water  from  Quebec  to  Mon- 
treal. From  thence  they  can  do  the  like,  through 
rivers  and  lakes,  at  the  back  of  all  your  majesty's 
plantations  on  this  continent  as  far  as  Carolina. 
And  in  this  large  tract  of  country  live  several 
nations  of  Indians  who  are  vastly  numerous. 
Among  those  they  constantly  send  emissaries  and 
priests,  with  toys  and  trifles,  to  insinuate  them- 
selves into  their  favour.  Afterward  they  send 
traders,  then  soldiers,  and  at  last  build  forts 
among  them;  and  the  garrisons  are  encouraged 
to  intermarry,  cohabit,  and  incorporate  among 
them ;  and  it  may  easily  be  concluded,  that  upon 
a  peace,  many  of  the  disbanded  soldiers  will  be 
sent  thither  for  that  purpose." 

About  this  time,  Colonel  Schuyler  having  ex- 
pressed his  determination  to  proceed  to  England, 
at  his  own  expense,  for  the  purpose  of  urging 
personally  upon  the  government  the  necessity  of 
the  conquest  of  Canada,  the  assembly  entered 
warmly  into  his  views  by  passing  an  unanimous 
resolution  testifying  to  his  long  and  faithful  pub- 
lic services,  and  by  intrusting  to  his  charge  their 
address  to  the  crown. 

Accompanied  by  five  Mohawk  chiefs,  Schuyler 
reached  England  early  in  the  spring  of  1710. 
The  presence  of  the  stately  savages  created  a 


144  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1710. 

great  sensation  througliout  the  kingdom.  Multi- 
tudes flocked  to  see  them.  Followed  everywhere 
bj  a  dense  throng  of  people,  they  paraded  the 
streets  of  London,  dressed  in  black  clothes,  over 
which  were  flung  gay  scarlet  mantles  edged  with 
gold.  On  the  19th  of  April,  they  were  intro- 
duced by  the  Lord  Chamberlain  to  Queen  Anne, 
when  one  of  them,  after  referring  to  the  failure 
of  the  expedition  against  Canada,  continued  as 
follows : — 

"We  were  mightily  rejoiced  when  we  heard 
our  great  queen  had  resolved  to  send  an  army  to 
reduce  Canada,  and  immediately,  in  token  of 
friendship,  we  hung  up  the  kettle,  and  took  up 
the  hatchet,  and  with  one  consent  assisted  Colo- 
nel Nicholson  in  making  preparations  on  this  side 
the  lake ;  but  at  length  we  were  told  our  great 
queen,  by  some  important  afiairs,  was  prevented 
in  her  design  at  present,  which  made  us  sorrow- 
ful, lest  the  French,  who  had  hitherto  dreaded  us, 
should  now  think  us  unable  to  make  war  against 
them.  The  reduction  of  Canada  is  of  great  weight 
to  our  free  hunting;  so  that  if  our  great  queen 
should  not  be  mindful  of  us,  we  must,  with  oiu* 
families,  forsake  our  country  and  seek  other 
habitations,  or  stand  neuter,  either  of  which  will 
be  against  our  inclinations." 

When  he  had  closed,  the  orator  presented  the 
queen  with  belts  of  wampum,  in  proof  of  the 


1710.]      HUNTER   APPOINTED   GOVERNOR.  145 

sincerity  of  the  Five  Nations.  He  received  a 
gracious  reply,  and  the  audience  was  ended. 

On  the  14th  of  June,  Brigadier  Robert  Hun- 
ter arrived  at  New  York,  bearing  the  commission 
of  governor.  A  native  of  Scotland,  Hunter  first 
entered  upon  the  business  of  life  as  apprentice  to 
an  apothecary;  but  running  away  from  his  mas- 
ter, he  enlisted  in  the  army  as  a  common  soldier. 
His  fine  talents,  handsome  person,  and  graceful 
address,  won  him  the  friendship  of  Swift  and 
Addison,  and  the  hand  of  Lady  Hay.  Married 
to  a  peeress,  military  promotion  soon  followed. 
His  first  colonial  appointment  was  in  1707,  as 
lieutenant-governor  of  Virginia ;  but  being  cap- 
tured by  the  French  while  on  his  voyage  to  that 
province,  he  was  commissioned,  on  his  return  to 
England,  to  succeed  Lovelace  in  the  government 
of  New  York  and  New  Jersey. 

Hunter  brought  over  with  him,  at  the  expense 
of  the  crown,  three  thousand  Germans,  who  had 
taken  refuge  in  England  the  year  previous,  from 
the  wars  which  had  laid  desolate  their  homesteads 
on  the  Rhine.  Many  of  these  immigrants  settled 
in  the  city  of  New  York.  Of  the  remainder, 
some  ascended  the  Hudson  River,  where  they 
commenced  cultivating  a  tract  of  several  thousa^id 
acres  on  the  manor  of  Livingston ;  while  others, 
migrating  into  Pennsylvania,  wrote  from  thence 
such  favourable  accounts  of  the  country  to  their 
friends  abroad,  that  the  latter  came  flocking  over 

13 


146  HISTORY    OF    NEW    YORK.  [1710. 

in  numbers  so  great  as  to  form  extensive  agricul- 
tural communities  in  the  western  parts  of  that 
province. 

Hunter  met  his  first  assembly  in  September, 
1710;  but  following  out  instructions  similar  to 
those  which  had  been  given  to  his  predecessor,  he 
soon  found  himself  threatened  with  a  controversy 
in  relation  to  a  permanent  revenue,  which  he  only 
avoided  by  a  prorogation  of  the  house  until  the 
following  spring. 

While  this  discussion  was  at  its  height,  the 
New  England  states  were  vigorously  prosecuting 
the  conquest  of  Acadia.  Thirty  transports,  bear- 
ing four  provincial  regiments,  supported  by  six 
English  vessels,  having  on  board  five  hundred 
marines,  sailed  from  Boston  in  September,  and 
toward  the  close  of  the  month  cast  anchor  in  the 
harbour  of  Port  Royal.  The  command  of  this 
expedition  had  been  given  to  Colonel  Nicholson, 
formerly  lieutenant-governor  of  New  York  under 
Sloughter.  It  proved  signally  successful.  The 
French  garrison,  feeble  in  numbers,  and  already 
mutinous  from  a  scarcity  of  food,  being  more  dis- 
posed to  desert  to  the  besiegers  than  to  offer  an 
ineffectual  resistance,  Subercase,  their  comman- 
der, capitulated  on  the  12th  of  October,  and  on 
the  16th,  evacuated,  with  his  ragged  and  half- 
famished  troops,  one  of  the  strongest  fortresses 
in  all  North  America.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
surrounding  districts  immediately  submitted  to 


I 

1711.]  CANADA    AGAIN    INVADED.  147 

the  conquerors,  who,  in  retaliation  for  the  suffer- 
ings which  their  own  countrymen  had  experienced 
at  the  hands  of  the  French,  treated  them  with 
but  little  mercy.  Vetch,  the  second  in  command 
to  Nicholson,  being  left  with  four  hundred  men  to 
occupy  the  fortress,  the  remainder  of  the  forces 
returned  in  triumph  to  Boston. 

The  bloodless  acquisition  of  Acadia,  still  further 
stimulating  the  desire  of  the  English  colonies  to 
obtain  possession  of  Canada  also,  Nicholson,  at 
the  instance  of  the  provincial  governors,  repaired 
to  England,  and  urged  upon  the  ministry  an  im- 
mediate prosecution  of  the  long  contemplated 
enterprise. 

His  appeal  being  strongly  supported  by  the 
secretary  of  state,  St.  John,  subsequently  known 
as  Lord  Bolingbroke,  seven  regiments  of  regulars 
and  a  battalion  of  marines  were  ordered  to  be 
embarked  on  board  a  fleet  of  fifteen  ships-of-war 
and  forty  transports,  the  command  of  the  land 
forces  being  given  to  Brigadier-general  Hill,  while 
that  of  the  squadron  was  intrusted  to  Admiral 
Sir  Hovenden  Walker.  The  fleet  reached  Boston 
on  the  25th  of  June,  1711,  where  a  month  was 
wasted  in  embarking  the  colonial  forces,  and  in 
providing  supplies. 

In  the  mean  time,  fifteen  hundred  provincials 
and  eight  hundred  Indians,  commanded  by  Nichol- 
son, assembled  at  Albany,  preparatory  to  an 
attack  on  Montreal.     But  with  the  usual  fatality 


148  HISTORY    OF   NEW   YORK.  [1711. 

■which  had  attended  every  attempt  to  conquer 
Canada,  the  fleet  which  was  destined  to  operate 
against  Quebec,  did  not  commence  ascending  the 
St.  Lawrence  until  the  middle  of  August.  The 
wind  blowing  fresh.  Walker  put  into  the  Bay  of 
Gaspe,  until  the  20th,  when  he  again  set  sail. 
On  the  evening  of  the  22d,  a  thick  fog  setting  in, 
the  pilots  advised  that  the  vessels  should  lie-to. 
with  their  heads  pointing  to  the  southward.  The 
admiral,  inefficient  and  self-willed,  countermanded 
the  order  and  directed  that  the  fleet  should  head 
north.  The  consequence  was  that,  during  the 
mist  and  darkness,  eight  of  the  transports  were 
wrecked  among  the  Egg  Islands  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, with  a  loss  of  eight  hundred  and  eighty- 
four  men.  Alarmed  at  a  disaster  brought  about 
in  a  great  measure  by  his  own  incompetence, 
"Walker  now  put  back  into  Spanish  River  Bay, 
where  he  called  a  council  of  war.  Acting  upon 
their  advice,  which  was  evidently  in  accordance 
with  his  own  wishes,  he  concluded  to  abandon  the 
expedition  and  return  home,  congratulating  him- 
self that  by  the  loss  of  a  part  of  his  troops,  he 
had  been  saved  from  hazarding  the  lives  of  the 
remainder. 

Fully  aware  of  the  danger  by  which  he  Avas 
menaced,  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  with  that 
remarkable  energy  which  seems  to  have  been  a 
characteristic  of  the  French  governors  in  Canada, 
made  every  preparation  in  his  power  to  meet  it. 


1711.]        FAILURE    OP   THE    EXPEDITION.  149 

He  called  around  him  his  faithful  allies,  and 
having  strengthened  Quebec  and  the  posts  below 
on  both  sides  of  the  river,  sent  out  trusty  spies  to 
watch  for  the  first  appearance  of  the  British 
squadron.  When  he  became  aware  from  the  in- 
telligence which  reached  him  that  Quebec  was  no 
longer  threatened,  De  Vaudreuil  hastened  at  the 
head  of  three  thousand  men  to  Chambly,  in  order 
to  protect  Montreal  against  the  advance  of  the 
provincial  army  under  Nicholson.  His  apprehen- 
sions of  an  attack  in  the  latter  quarter  were, 
however,  spOedily  put  to  rest.  Nicholson  no 
sooner  heard  that  Walker  had  set  sail  for  Eng- 
land, and  that  the  colonial  transports  had  been 
sent  home,  than  he  disbanded  his  forces  and  de- 
parted from  Albany,  leaving  the  inhabitants  of 
that  city  in  great  alarm  lest  De  Vaudreuil  should 
advance  from  his  camp  at  Chambly  and  carry  on 
a  frontier  war  of  retaliation. 

To  New  York  the  shameful  failure  of  this  ex- 
pedition was  peculiarly  unfortunate.  An  expense 
of  ten  thousand  pounds  had  been  incmred  to  no 
purpose;  the  frontiers  still  lay  open  to  the  in- 
cursions of  the  enemy ;  while  the  Five  Nations, 
beginning  to  regard  with  contempt  a  people  whose 
projects  always  ended  unsuccessfully,  evinced  a 
disposition  to  form  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  the 
French,  whose  good  fortune,  spirit,  and  energy 
had  won  their  admiration. 

In  England,  the  inglorious  return  of  Walker 

13S 


150  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1711. 

roused  the  public  indignation.  The  regular  oflS- 
cers  defended  themselves,  by  attributing  the 
failure  of  the  expedition  to  the  detention  at  Bos- 
ton while  waiting  for  supplies ;  and  charged  the 
delay  upon  the  New  England  people,  whom  they 
denounced  as  being  selfish,  ill-natured,  sour, 
hypocritical,  and  canting.  The  latter  retorted  by 
asserting  the  enterprise  to  have  been  a  tory  device 
intended  to  fail,  and  gotten  up  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  fleecing  and  disgracing  the  eastern  pro- 
vinces. Parliament  next  took  up  the  quarrel, 
and  Harley,  separated  from  his  former  colleagues, 
accused  St.  John  and  the  Chancellor  Harcourt 
of  having  contrived  the  project,  for  the  purpose 
of  putting  twenty  thousand  pounds  into  their  0"v\ti 
pockets.  <'No  government,"  said  Harcourt,  "is 
worth  supporting  that  will  not  admit  of  such  ad- 
vantageous jobs." 

While  this  controversy  was  raging,  Governor 
Hunter  was  contending  with  a  refractory  assem- 
bly. The  latter,  abiding  by  their  previous  de- 
termination to  make  no  appropriations  for  a 
longer  term  than  one  year,  refused  to  pass  the 
bills  as  altered  by  the  council.  Warm  discussions 
ensued.  The  council  contended  that,  as  a  co- 
ordinate branch  of  the  legislature,  deriving,  in 
like  manner  with  the  assembly,  their  authority 
from  "the  mere  grace  of  the  crown,"  they  had  a 
right  to  make  such  amendments  as  they  thought 
proper.      The  delegates  replied  boldly:    "The 


1712.]    DIFFERENCES  WITH  THE  ASSEMBLY.       151 

inherent  right  the  assembly  have  to  dispose  of 
the  money  of  the  freemen  of  this  colony,  does  not 
proceed  from  any  commission,  letters  patent,  or 
other  grant  from  the  crown ;  but  from  the  free 
choice  and  election  of  the  people,  who  ought 
not  to  be  divested  of  their  property,  nor  justly 
can  without  their  consent.  Any  former  conde- 
scensions of  other  assemblies,  will  not  prescribe 
to  the  council  a  privilege  to  make  any  of  those 
amendments;  and,  therefore,  they  have  it  not. 
The  assembly  are  suflficiently  convinced  of  the 
necessity'-  they  are  in,  not  to  admit  of  any  en- 
croachments so  much  to  their  prejudice." 

Another  cause  of  complaint  at  this  period  was 
the  erection  of  a  court  of  chancery,  and  the  as- 
sumption of  the  chancellorship  by  Hunter  him- 
self. The  assembly  disputed  his  authority  to 
establish  such  a  court  without  their  consent,  and 
contended  that  the  fees  exacted  under  such  cir- 
cumstances were  contrary  to  law.  They  appealed 
to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  but  met  with  a  pointed 
rebuke,  the  act  of  Hunter  and  his  council  being 
fully  sustained. 

At  the  session  of  1712,  Hunter  again  vainly 
endeavoured  to  prevail  upon  the  assembly  to 
grant  a  permanent  revenue.  They  would  allow 
no  more  than  an  annual  appropriation,  specifically 
applied.  Nothing  could  be  more  gloomy  than 
the  aspect  of  affairs  at  this  period.  The  assem- 
bly, governor,   and  council  were  at  issue;  the 


152  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1713. 

Iroquois,  tempted  by  French  emissaries,  were 
wavering  in  their  allegiance ;  an  invasion  was  an- 
ticipated bj  sea ;  and,  to  add  to  the  general  alarm, 
a  negro  insurrection  broke  out  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  by  which  several  persons  lost  their  lives. 
It  was  speedily  suppressed,  however,  and  nine- 
teen of  the  real  or  supposed  conspirators  were 
executed.  During  this  year,  the  Tuscarora  In- 
dians, having  been  defeated  in  an  attempt  to 
exterminate  the  English  in  North  Carolina,  took 
refuge  among  the  Iroquois,  by  whom  they  were 
received  into  the  confederacy,  which  became 
known  thenceforth  as  the  Six  Nations. 

At  length,  in  1713,  the  second  intercolonial, 
or  Queen  Anne's  war,  was  terminated  by  the 
peace  of  Utrecht.  France,  humbled  by  the  suc- 
cessive victories  of  Marlborough,  ceded  to  Great 
Britain  the  territory  of  Hudson's  Bay,  the  whole 
of  Newfoundland  and  Acadia,  and  the  island  of 
St.  Kitts  in  the  West  Indies.  The  subjection 
of  the  Five  Nations  to  the  English  crown  was 
also  acknowledged;  but  as  neither  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  Iroquois  territory,  nor  those  of  Louisi- 
ana and  Acadia  were  defined  by  the  treaty,  they 
became,  in  after  years,  a  fruitful  source  of  dis- 
pute, which  engendered  repeated  acts  of  hostility, 
and  kept  the  frontiers  of  the  English  colonies  in 
almost  continual  warfare,  until  the  conquest  of 
Canada  was  finally  consummated  by  General 
Wolfe. 


1719.]  GENERAL   PROSPEKITY.  153 

But  though  the  close  of  the  war  relieved  New 
York  from  the  pressure  of  an  active  enemy,  the 
province  still  continued  agitated  by  the  differ- 
ences existing  between  the  governor  and  the 
assembly.  Finding,  after  several  successive  ses- 
sions, that  neither  threats  nor  blandishments,  nor 
the  decision  of  the  Lords  of  Trade,  could  move 
the  delegates  to  grant  a  revenue  in  the  manner 
demanded  by  the  crown,  Hunter  resorted  to  arti- 
fice to  obtain  his  ends.  Personally  a  favourite 
with  all  parties,  and  ably  supported  by  Colonel 
Morris,  his  confidential  adviser,  a  gentleman  of 
great  influence  in  the  province,  he  at  length  suc- 
ceeded, by  intrigue  and  concession,  in  accom- 
plishing the  orders  of  his  superiors. 

At  the  session  of  1715,  "a  well-disposed  ma- 
jority" granted  a  revenue  for  five  years;  and 
two  years  afterward,  authorized  a  new  issue  of 
paper  money  to  the  amount  of  forty-eight  thou- 
sand pounds,  for  the  alleged  purpose  of  liqui- 
dating long  outstanding  public  debts,  which  had 
not  been  provided  for  previously. 

From  this  period  until  the  return  of  Hunter  to 
England  in  1719,  every  thing  worked  harmonious- 
ly. Victorious  on  the  only  important  point  at 
issue,  the  governor,  always  disposed  to  conciliate 
matters,  could  well  afford  to  be  generous.  He 
permitted  the  naturalization  of  the  Dutch  inhabi- 
tants, a  privilege  which  had  previously  been  de- 
nied;   consented  that   British   imported   goods 


154  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1719. 

should  be  taxed  for  the  benefit  of  the  colony,  and 
to  the  imposition  of  tonnage  duties  on  foreign 
vessels.  The  failure  of  his  health  demanding  a 
change  of  climate,  Hunter  surrendered  the  go- 
vernment of  the  province  into  the  hands  of  Colo- 
nel Schuyler,  and  embarking  for  England  on  the 
31st  of  July,  1719,  carried  with  him,  from  the 
respective  assemblies  of  New  York  and  New  Jer- 
sey, testimonials  expressive  of  their  high  appre- 
ciation of  his  public  services,  and  of  his  private 
virtues. 


1720.]  ARRIVAL    OP    BURNET.  155 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Arrival  of  Govern  or  Burnet — His  character — Old  assembly  con- 
tinued— Sale  of  Indian  goods  to  the  French  prohibited — Mer- 
cantile opposition — Petition  to  the  king — Reply  of  Golden  and 
Alexander — Activity  of  the  French — Indian  policy  of  Burnet 
— Fort  Oswego  built — Administrative  difficulties — Alienation 
of  Schuyler,  Philips,  and  Delancey — New  assembly  demanded 
by  the  people — Removal  of  Burnet  to  the  government  of  Mas- 
sachusetts— Montgomery  appointed  governor — Harmonizes 
with  the  assembly — Meets  the  Indians  in  convention  at  Alba- 
ny— Fort  Oswego  threatened — Burnet's  Indian  policy  repu- 
diated— Boundary  fixed  between  New  York  and  Connecticut 
— Seizure  of  Crown  Point  by  the  French — Cosby  succeeds 
Montgomery — Ingratiates  himself  with  the  assembly — A  free 
school  established — Violent  and  arbitrary  conduct  of  Cosby — 
Political  quarrels — Imprisonment  of  Zenger,  printer  of  the 
W^eekly  Journal — His  trial — Defended  by  Hamilton,  of  Phila- 
delphia— Liberty  of  the  press  vindicated — Illegal  career  of 
Cosby — His  sudden  death — Bitter  party  feuds — Clarke  ap- 
pointed lieutenant-governor. 

Schuyler  administered  the  government  of  the 
province  with  great  prudence  and  honesty  for 
thirteen  months.  On  the  17th  of  September, 
1720,  he  was  superseded  by  William  Burnet,  a 
son  of  the  celebrated  bishop.  Though  a  gentle- 
man of  fine  literary  acquirements,  and  an  indus- 
trious student,  he  was  nevertheless  of  a  lively  and 
social  disposition.  By  no  means  averse  to  mend- 
ing his  shattered  fortunes,  which  had  been  greatly 
reduced  by  the  bursting  of  the  South  Sea  bubble, 
he  exchanged  with  Hunter  the  comptroUership 


156  HISTORY   OF   KEW   YORK.  [1720. 

of  the  customs  at  London,  for  the  government  of 
the  colonies  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey.  De- 
sh'ous  of  conciliating  the  affections  of  the  people, 
Governor  Bm-net  rendered  himself  accessible  to 
all;  while,  in  his  frequent  visits  to  the  principal 
families,  whose  friendship  he  assiduously  courted, 
he  delicately  avoided  every  appearance  of  parade 
or  ostentation.  Such  conduct  was  well  calcu- 
lated to  win  the  strong  personal  esteem  with 
which  he  soon  came  to  be  regarded,  and  tended 
in  a  great  degree  to  soften  the  political  asperi- 
ties by  which  his  administration  was  subsequently 
distinguished.  As  Hunter  had  taken  the  pre- 
caution to  prevent  a  dissolution  of  the  "well-dis- 
posed" assembly  during  his  absence,  Governor 
Burnet,  contrary  to  custom,  continued  it  in  ex- 
istence after  his  arrival,  and  obtained  thereby, 
through  the  influence  of  Colonel  Morris,  a  re- 
newal of  the  grant  of  a  revenue  for  five  years. 

But  if  this  retention  of  the  old  assembly  was 
of  service  to  Burnet  in  one  respect,  it  unfortu- 
nately lost  him  the  support  of  Schuyler  and 
Philips,  both  of  whom,  as  members  of  the  coun- 
cil, had  strenuously  advocated  the  propriety  of  a 
new  election. 

In  this  measure,  however,  Burnet  only  con- 
formed to  his  instructions ;  but  he  acted  from  his 
own  just  and  enlarged  views,  when  he  procured 
from  the  same  assembly  the  passdge  of  a  law  prcf- 
hibitino;  the  sale  of  Indian  ";oods  to  the  French. 


1722.]  ACTIVITY    OF    THE    FREKCH.  157 

As  the  principal  commodities  required  in  the  In- 
dian trade  were  of  British  manufacture,  the  re- 
taining of  those  commodities  in  their  own  hands, 
was  not  only  of  vast  benefit  to  the  province  in  a 
pecuniary  point  of  view,  but  it  was  also  well  cal- 
culated to  effect  a  political  change  in  the  relations 
previously  existing  between  the  Canadians  and  the 
distant  Indian  tribes,  who,  subsequently,  could 
only  obtain  their  customary  supplies  at  the  hands 
of  English  traders. 

The  act,  however,  being  productive  of  great 
opposition  from  interested  parties,  and  eliciting  a 
memorial  to  the  croAvn  praying  for  its  repeal, 
Burnet  was  soon  after  called  upon  to  answer  the 
objections  of  the  petitioners.  A  long  and  able 
report  was  accordingly  drawn  up  by  Golden  and 
Alexander,  two  members  of  the  council,  which 
triumphantly  justified  the  course  pursued  by  the 
governor,  but  entailed  upon  its  authors  the  last- 
ing enmity  of  those  merchants  who  had  formerly 
carried  on  a  lucrative  traffic  with  the  French. 

Indefatigable  as  ever,  the  latter  were  making 
every  effort  to  extend  the  dominion  of  France, 
from  Canada  westwardly,  by  ingratiating  them- 
selves with  the  Indian  tribes  of  those  regions, 
through  the  influence  of  their  traders  and  mis- 
sionaries. Penetrating  their  projects,  and  well 
acquainted  with  the  geography  of  the  country, 
Burnet  sought  to  intercent  the  intercourse  be- 
tweeii  the  Canadians  and  the  Indian  tribes  settled 
14 


158  HISTORY   OP   NEW   YORK.  [1722. 

on  the  great  lakes  and  the  numerous  tributaries 
of  the  Mississippi,  by  building,  during  the  year 
1722,  a  trading-house  at  Oswego,  which  he  sub- 
sequently strengthened  by  a  fort  erected  at  his 
own  expense;  thus  extending  the  limits  of  the 
province  of  New  York  to  the  south  shore  of  Lake 
Ontario.  The  situation  was  judiciously  chosen, 
and  the  Miamis,  the  Hurons,  and  unknown  tribes 
from  the  distant  west,  soon  became  frequent  and 
profitable  visitors. 

But  while  the  wisdom  of  Burnet's  Indian  policy 
was  regarded  with  approval  by  all  those  who 
were  most  nearly  interested  in  the  prosperity  of 
the  province,  his  domestic  administration  was  a 
turbulent  one.  The  old  dispute  respecting  the 
chancellorship  was  revived.  This  was  touching 
the  governor  nearly,  for  he  prided  himself  greatly 
upon  the  exercise  of  the  office  of  chancellor,  as  it 
afforded  favourable  opportunities  for  the  display 
of  his  erudition.  His  integrity  was  unquestion- 
able ;  but  whether  he  was  altogether  suitable  for 
a  judge  may  be  doubted,  as  his  rapid  decisions 
gave  him  but  little  time  to  reflect  upon  the  merits 
of  the  cause.  "I  act  first,  and  think  afterward," 
said  he ;  a  dangerous  admission,  which,  doubtless, 
had  its  weight  in  the  scale  of  opposition.  But 
he  had  other  sources  of  annoyance.  Unaccus- 
tomed to  dissemble  his  thoughts,  his  free  speech 
had  alienated  Schuyler,  Philips,  and  Delancey, 
all  three  persons  of  influence  in  the  province; 


1728.]    MONTGOMERY  APrOINTED  GOVERNOR.    159 

■while  the  continuance  of  an  assembly,  ■which  had 
already  existed  for  eleven  years,  ■was  regarded 
by  many  as  unconstitutional.  The  assembly 
themselves,  changed  by  the  decease  of  old,  and 
the  election  of  ne'w  members,  ■were  also  becoming 
insubordinate.  In  1726  they  refused  to  grant  a 
revenue  for  a  longer  period  than  three  years. 
The  people  ■were  clamorous  for  a  ne^w  election, 
and  Burnet  reluctantly  yielded  to  the  general, 
■wish. 

The  new  assembly,  -which  met  in  1727,  con- 
sisted of  members  wholly  disaflfected  to  the  go- 
vernor. His  decrees  in  chancery,  his  conduct  in 
relation  to  a  dispute  in  the  French  church,  and 
the  prohibition  of  the  Canada  trade,  being  made 
subjects  of  severe  animadversion,  he  took  the 
earliest  opportunity  of  summoning  the  delegates 
into  his  presence  and  dissolving  them. 

The  commission  of  Governor  Burnet  expiring 
by  the  decease  of  George  I.,  his  opponents  ex- 
erted their  influence  to  procure  his  removal,  on 
the  plea  that  his  longer  continuance  in  office 
would  be  dangerous  to  the  public  tranquillity. 
Their  efforts  proving  successful,  Burnet  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  government  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
and  was  succeeded  on  the  15th  of  April,  1728, 
by  John  Montgomery. 

Educated  to  the  profession  of  arms.  Governor 
Montgomery  had  subsequently  occupied  the  more 
peaceful  post  of  gentleman  of  the  bedchamber  to 


160  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1729. 

George  II.,  prior  to  that  monarch's  accession  to 
the  throne.  His  abilities  were  very  moderate, 
and  preferring  a  life  of  ease  to  the  turmoil  of 
politics,  he  won  the  favour  of  the  assembly  by 
conceding  their  right  to  regulate  salaries,  and  by 
declining  to  sit  as  chancellor  until  specially 
directed  to  do  so  by  orders  from  England.  Even 
then  he  obeyed  with  reluctance,  and  only  as  a 
matter  of  form,  as  he  confessed  himself  unquali- 
fied for  the  station. 

Having  procured  from  the  assembly  the  grant 
of  a  revenue  for  five  years,  he  proceeded  to  Al- 
bany, where  he  held  a  council  with  delegates  from 
the  Six  Nations,  and  bestowed  upon  them  the 
presents  with  which  he  was  charged.  At  this 
council  he  succeeded  in  renewing  the  ancient 
league,  and  in  engaging  the  Indians  to  assist  in 
defending  the  fort  at  Oswego,  in  case  of  its  being 
attacked  by  the  French. 

This  judicious  arrangement  was  well-timed; 
for,  during  the  spring  of  1729,  Crovernor  Mont- 
gomery received  intelligence  from  the  vigilant 
Burnet,  that  an  expedition  was  organizing  in 
Canada  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  obnox- 
ious trading-post.  The  garrison  was  immediately 
reinforced  by  a  body  of  men  taken  from  the  in- 
dependent companies,  and  the  Six  Nations  having 
proclaimed  their  determination  to  join  in  repel- 
ling the  enemy,  the  prospect  of  success  being 
thus  rendered  doubtful,  the  Governor  of  Canada 


1731.]         FORTRESS   AT   CROWN   POINT.  161 

broke  up  his  preparations,  and  abandoned  his 
design. 

Unfortunately,  at  this  period  the  wise  policy 
of  Burnet  was  repudiated  by  the  king,  who, 
through  ignorance  or  intrigue,  repealed  the  acts 
prohibiting  the  Canadian  trade,  and  thereby  re- 
stored to  the  French  those  advantages  of  which 
they  had  been  deprived  by  the  judicious  but  un- 
popular measures  for  which  Burnet,  trusting  to 
time  for  his  justification,  had  willingly  incurred 
so  much  odium. 

In  the  month  of  May,  1731,  the  long  disputed 
boundary  question  between  Connecticut  and  New 
York  was  finally  settled.  On  the  1st  of  July 
following,  Governor  Montgomery  dying,  the  ad- 
ministration devolved  upon  Rip  Van  Dam,  presi- 
dent of  the  council.  In  the  short  period  during 
which  Van  Dam  held  the  ofiice  of  acting  gover- 
nor, the  French,  in  defiance  of  previous  treaty 
stipulations,  entered  the  territory  of  the  Iroquois, 
and  seizing  upon  Crown  Point,  proceeded  to  build 
a  fortress  there.  This  daring  and  dangerous  en- 
croachment, which  secured  the  command  of  Lake 
Champlain,  and  laid  open  to  the  enemy  the  fron- 
tiers of  New  York,  Massachusetts,  and  New 
Hampshire,  was  regarded  with  singular  apathy 
by  the  assembly  of  New  York.  No  attempt  was 
made  to  counteract  it  until  1737,  when  a  scheme 
was  projected  for  settling  a  body  of  Scotch  High- 
landers on  Lake  George,  to  serve  as  a  military 
14* 


162  HISTORY    OF   NEW   YORK.  [1732. 

colony  in  the  defence  of  the  province.  It  "was 
partially  carried  out,  but  o"\ving  to  the  selfishness 
and  ill  faith  of  the  provincial  government,  was 
finally  abandoned. 

In  August,  1732,  William  Cosby  arrived  at 
New  York,  commissioned  to  succeed  Montgomery 
in  the  government  of  the  province.  The  charac- 
ter of  Cosby  had  preceded  him.  Previously 
Governor  of  Minorca,  he  was  charged  with  having 
illegally  seized  and  confiscated  the  property  of 
a  Spanish  merchant,  evading  a  judicial  inquiry 
into  his  conduct  by  secreting  the  papers  which 
would  have  enabled  the  owner  to  prove  the  crimi- 
nality of  the  act.  Having,  however,  been  active 
in  opposing  the  measures  brought  forward  in  Par- 
liament the  preceding  year  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  sugar  islands,  the  assembly  evinced 
their  gratitude  by  continuing  the  revenue  for  five 
years,  by  fixing  his  salary  at  two  thousand  pounds 
a  year,  and  by  presenting  him  with  the  sum  of 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  for  the  assistance 
he  had  rendered  their  agents  in  London.  Indig- 
nant at  receiving  so  small  a  remuneration  for  his 
services,  he  broke  out  into  violent  abuse  of  the 
assembly,  and  sarcastically  asked  Morris,  one  of 
the  members,  why  they  did  not  add  pounds,  shil- 
lings, and  pence  ?  "Do  they  think  I  came  from 
England  for  money?"  said  he.  "I'll  make  them 
know  better."  This  display  of  temper  gained 
for  him  an  addition  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 


1732.]    cosby's  arbitrary  conduct.  168 

pounds,  but  he  lost  from  that  time  the  confidence 
of  the  assembly. 

Provision  was  made  at  the  same  session  for  the 
first  free  school  established  in  New  York.  The 
bill  for  this  purpose,  drafted  by  Phillips,  the 
speaker,  and  introduced  by  Delancey,  occasioned 
no  little  merriment,  from  its  preamble  containing 
the  singular  declaration  that,  "  the  youth  of  this 
colony  are  found,  by  manifold  experience,  to  be 
not  inferior  in  their  natural  genius  to  the  youth 
of  any  other  country  in  the  world." 

Avaricious  and  arbitrary,  Cosby  was  no  sooner 
placed  at  ease  in  respect  to  a  revenue,  than,  cast- 
ing ofi"  all  restraint,  he  exliibited  himself  in  hi^ 
true  colours.  He  suspended  Van  Dam  and  others 
from  their  seats  in  council  without  authority.  lie 
deprived  Morris,  the  chief  justice,  of  his  office, 
which  he  bestowed  upon  the  younger  Delancey. 
He  quarrelled  with  Alexander,  the  secretary  of 
state,  and  with  Smith,  one  of  the  leading  lawyers 
in  the  province.  When  reminded  of  his  illegal 
proceedings,  he  answered  flippantly,  "I  have 
great  interest  in  England."  He  took  care,  how- 
ever, to  write  to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  defending 
his  measures  as  necessary  for  the  preservation 
of  the  king's  prerogative ;  charging  the  assembly, 
and  part  of  the  council  with  being  tainted  with' 
"Boston  principles." 

Finding  remonstrances  of  no  avail,  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  governor  at  length  made  known  their 


164  HISTORY   OP   NEW   YOKK.  [1733. 

political  grievances  through  the  columns  of  the 
public  press.  Prior  to  1733,  Bradford's  New  York 
Gazette  was  the  only  newspaper  published  in  the 
province.  As  this  was  in  the  interest  of  the  go- 
vernor, a  new  paper,  called  the  Weekly  Journal, 
was  issued  by  John  Peter  Zenger,  as  the  organ 
of  the  popular  party.  It  soon  became  filled  with 
articles  in  which  the  measures  of  the  government 
were  criticised  with  great  severity.  Among 
these,  certain  "low  ballads"  were  charged  by  the 
chief  justice  to  be  libels.  Not  being  able  to  ob- 
tain the  concurrence  of  the  assembly  in  a  prose- 
cution of  the  printer,  Cosby  and  his  council,  on 
the  2d  of  December,  took  upon  themselves  to 
order  four  of  the  journals  to  be  publicly  burned 
by  the  common  hangman,  and  imprisoned  Zenger, 
on  the  charge  of  publishing  false  and  malicious 
libels. 

The  grand  jury  refusing  to  indict  him,  Brad- 
ley, the  attorney-general,  filed  an  information. 
Alexander  and  Smith,  the  counsel  for  Zenger, 
having  excepted  to  the  commissions  of  the  judges 
on  the  ground  of  illegality,  the  coui't  ordered 
their  names  to  be  struck  from  the  roll  of  attor- 
neys. 

i\.t  that  period  there  were  only  three  lawyers 
of  distinguished  legal  reputation  at  the  New  York 
bar.  Smith  and  Alexander  were  among  those 
most  prominent;  the  third,  Murray,  was  a  fast 
friend  of  the  governor,  and  could  not  therefore 


1733.]  LIBERTY  OF  THE  PRESS  VINDICATED.     165 

be  expected  to  risk  the  favour  of  the  latter  by 
acting  as  counsel  for  the  prisoner.  Under  these 
circumstances,  the  friends  of  Zenger  sent  se- 
cretly to  Philadelphia  and  engaged  the  services 
of  Andrew  Hamilton,  a  jurist  of  great  learning 
and  experience.  When  the  trial  came  on,  Ha- 
milton, admitting  the  fact  of  publication,  boldly 
asserted  that  the  matters  charged  were  true,  and 
therefore  no  libels.  Being  under  no  awe  of  the 
court,  he  ridiculed  the  decision  of  the  judges, 
that  a  libel  was  the  more  dangerous  for  being 
true,  and  by  wit,  sarcasm,  and  invective,  and  by 
an  eloquent  appeal  to  the  jury  to  protect,  in  the 
cause  of  the  poor  printer  Zenger,  tlie  nobler 
cause  of  liberty,  he  so  effectually  diverted  their 
minds  from  the  question  at  issue,  as  to  obtain  for 
his  client  a  verdict  of  acquittal. 

The  instant  the  decision  was  made  known,  the 
hall  rang  with  triumphant  shouts.  The  wrath 
of  the  judges,  who  threatened  a  commitment  of 
the  ringleaders,  was  met  by  a  significant  rejoin- 
der, and  Hamilton  was  hurried  from  the  court  to 
partake  of  a  splendid  dinner  prepared  for  his  re- 
ception. He  received  from  the  corporation  a 
gold  box,  enclosing  the  freedom  of  the  city,  and 
on  his  return  to  Philadelphia  the  next  day,  was 
escorted  by  a  large  concourse  of  people  to  his 
barge,  which  he  entered  under  a  salute  of  cannon. 
The  other  colonies  also  rejoiced  at  an  issue  which 
strengthened  and  encouraged  the  growth  of  li- 


166  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1736. 

beral  principles;  but  the  contest  proved  in  the 

end  unfortunate  to  the  "poor  printer"  Zenger. 
Elevated  for  a  time  into  a  bewildering  notoriety, 
he  launched  out  into  an  extravagant  expenditure, 
and,  neglecting  his  business,  sank  finally  into 
poverty  and  neglect. 

Setting  at  defiance  all  laws  which  interfered 
with  his  pleasure  or  rapacity,  Cosby  still  pursued 
his  arbitrary  and  unprincipled  career.  He  con- 
tinued the  assembly  against  their  own  petitions 
for  a  dissolution,  and  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
known  wishes  of  the  people.  He  increased  the 
public  discontent  by  insisting  upon  a  re-survey 
of  old  grants  and  patents,  and  by  infamously  de- 
stroying important  documents  placed  in  his  hands 
for  inspection  by  the  corporation  of  Albany.  On 
the  10th  of  March,  1736,  greatly  to  the  relief  of 
the  province,  he  died  suddenly.  The  rejoicings 
which  followed  this  event  had  not  subsided,  when 
a  bitter  contest  arose  between  Van  Dam  and 
Clarke,  each  of  whom  claimed  the  right  to  ad- 
minister the  government.  Their  respective  par- 
tisans took  up  the  quarrel.  Morris,  the  former 
chief  justice,  lately  arrived  from  England, 
espoused  the  cause  of  Van  Dam,  and  placed  him- 
self at  the  head  of  the  popular  party.  The  feud 
had  already  risen  to  such,  a  height,  that  Clarke 
had  withdrawn  into  the  fort,  and  called  around 
him  the  military  for  his  protection.  Upon  being 
asked  for  his  advice  in  this  state  of  afiairs,  Mor- 


1737.]  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR  CLARKE.     167 

ris  replied  significantly,  "If  you  don't  hang 
them,  they  will  hang  you."  Fortunately,  how- 
ever, the  crisis  was  averted  by  the  arrival  of 
despatches  on  the  12th  of  October,  which  con- 
firmed Clarke  in  his  authority,  and  which  were 
followed  shortly  after  by  a  commission  advancing 
him  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-governor. 


CHAPTER  Xni.  / 

Character  of  Lieutenant-governor  Clarke — His  policy — Con- 
duct of  the  provincial  party — Their  reply  to  his  opening  ad- 
dress— Extraordinary  issue  of  paper  money — Disfranchise- 
ment of  the  Jews — Snare  laid  for  the  popular  leaders — Its 
success — Permanent  revenue  refused — Negro  plot  in  New 
York — Terror  of  the  citizens — Evidence  of  Maiy  Burton — 
The  conspiracy  doubted — Judicial  murder  of  Ury — Arrival 
of  Governor  Clinton — His  quarrel  with  Chief  Justice  Delan- 
cey — DifBculties  with  the  assembly — War  between  England 
and  France — Activity  of  the  French — Capture  of  Louisburg 
— Settlements  around  Saratoga  ravaged — Invasion  of  Cana- 
da projected — Assembling  of  the  provincial  levies — Boston 
menaced  by  a  French  fleet- — 'Subsidence  of  the  alarm — Poli- 
tical feuds  in  New  York — The  village  of  Saratoga  burned — 
Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle. 

English  by  birth,  though  for  a  long  time 
resident  of  the  province,  the  new  lieutenant- 
governor  was  no  sooner  fairly  installed  in  office 
than  he  evinced  a  politic  disposition  to  overlook 
past  differences,  and.  to  disarm  opposition  by 
smooth  words  and  a  specious  courtesy. 

Owing  his  first  minor  appointment  in  the  pro- 
vince to  the  court  influence  of  an  uncle,  he  had 


168  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1737. 

sedulously  improved  his  opportunities  until  he  had 
reached  his  present  elevated  position.  Though 
labouring  under  the  deficiencies  of  a  limited  edu- 
cation, he  Avas  a  man  of  talent,  and  had  made 
himself  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  condition 
and  affairs  of  the  colony.  Cunning  rather  than 
sagacious,  cool  and  cautious  yet  active,  he  pre- 
ferred to  mn  his  way  by  address  rather  than  by 
force,  and  while  serving  the  crown  with  a  reason- 
able degree  of  fidelity,  seized  every  advantage 
which  his  station  gave  him  to  improve  his  own 
fortune.  The  first  act  of  Governor  Clarke  was  a 
popular  one.  He  dissolved  the  old  and  convened 
a  new  assembly.  This  measure,  as  indicating  a 
design  to  cast  off  his  old  political  associates,  was 
regarded  with  alarm  by  the  old  government  party, 
while  the  provincials,  hailing  it  as  a  triumph, 
easily  secured  a  majority  at  the  ensuing  election. 
After  a  session  of  two  days,  during  midsummer, 
they  adjourned  until  the  23d  of  August,  both 
parties  anxiously  watching  the  course  of  the  go- 
vernor, and  desirous  of  securing  his  support. 

But  however  much  the  provincial  party  might 
have  wished  to  obtain  the  countenance  of  their 
chief  magistrate,  they  did  not,  when  the  assembly 
met  in  autumn,  show  any  disposition  to  purchase 
it  at  the  expense  of  the  principles  they  had 
espoused.  * 

Their  reply  to  the  opening  address  of  the  go- 
vernor rigorously  defined  the  policy  they  intended 


1737.]  ISSUE    OF   PAPER   MONEY.  169 

to  pursue.  In  answer  to  the  usual  demand  for 
appropriations  for  revenue,  and  other  purposes, 
they  said  boldly :  "You  are  not  to  expect  that  we 
will  either  raise  sums  unfit  to  be  raised,  or  put 
what  we  shall  raise  into  the  power  of  a  governor 
to  misapply,  if  we  can  prevent  it;  nor  shall  Ave 
make  up  any  other  deficiencies  than  what  we  con- 
ceive are  fit  and  just  to  be  paid,  or  continue  that 
support  or  revenue  we  shall  raise,  for  any  longer 
time  than  one  year ;  nor  do  we  think  it  conve- 
nient to  do  even  that,  until  such  laws  are  passed 
as  we  conceive  necessary  for  the  safety  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  colony,  who  have  reposed  a 
trust  in  us  for  that  only  purpose,  and  which  we 
are  sure  you  will  think  it  reasonable  we  should 
■  act  agreeably  to ;  and  by  the  grace  of  God  we 
will  endeavour  not  to  deceive  them."  The  ses- 
sion was  prolonged  for  nearly  four  months,  dur- 
ing which  a  grant  of  revenue  for  one  year  was 
passed,  and  a  bill  for  holding  triennial  assemblies ; 
but  the  latter  was  soon  after  rejected  in  England. 
But  by  far  the  most  important  act  of  the  ses- 
sion was  the  passage  of  a  bill  authorizing  an  issue 
of  paper  money  to  the  amount  of  forty-eight 
thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  Forty 
thousand  of  this  was  to  be  loaned  to  the  respec- 
tive counties,  in  small  sums,  for  twelve  years,  at 
five  per  cent. ;  while,  to  secure  the  signature  of 
the  governor,  the  remainder  was  ordered  to  be  ap- 
plied to  public  uses. 

15 


170  HISTORY    OF   XEW   YORK.  [1737. 

One  other  occurrence  took  place  during  the 
assembly  of  1737",  -which  strongly  indicated  the 
prejudices  of  the  period.  The  seat  of  delegate 
for  the  city  being  contested  by  Van  Home,  the 
son  of  a  deceased  member,  against  Phillips,  the 
late  speaker,  the  house  ordered  that  neither 
should  sit  until  the  conduct  of  the  sheriff  had  un- 
dergone an  examination.  The  latter  was  speedily 
acquitted  of  having  acted  improperly,  upon  the 
testimony  of  the  petitioner ;  but  Smith,  who, 
with  Alexander,  had  been  invited  to  resume  his 
practice  at  the  bar,  acting  as  counsel  for  Van 
Home,  disputed  the  qualification  of  Jews  as  elect- 
ors, and  after  a  brilliant  speech,  in  which  his  ex- 
tensive theological  learning  was  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  case  with  great  effect,  the  assembly  de- 
cided that  Jews  were  not  entitled  to  vote,  and  a 
law  was  passed  soon  after  to  disfranchise  them. 
Though  steering  a  middle  course  between  the  two 
great  parties,  Clarke  had  failed  in  obtaining  a 
grant  of  revenue  for  a  term  of  years ;  but  he 
concealed  his  chagrin,  expressed  himself  satisfied 
with  the  conduct  of  the  delegates,  and  assented, 
with  great  apparent  cheerfulness,  to  the  bills 
which  required  his  signature. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  he  was  secretly  ma- 
turing a  stratagem  to  render  the  popular  leaders 
odious  in  the  eyes  of  their  constituents.  Affect- 
ing to  regard  them  with  great  favour,  he  offered 
them  places  under  the  government,  promising  to 


1741.]  NEGRO    PLOT.  171 

exert  his  influence  with  the  council  to  secure 
their  appointment,  well  knowing  at  the  same  time 
that  the  nominations  would  be  rejected.  The 
scheme,  artfully  laid,  was  completely  successful. 
Morris,  Johnson,  and  others,  fell  into  the  snare, 
and  not  only  lost  office,  hut  lyere  viewed  with 
hatred  and  contempt  by  their  former  supporters. 
Confidence  in  the  popular  party  being  thus  weak- 
ened, the  elections  of  ^739  resulted  in  favour  of 
the  government. 

But  the  new  assembly,  though  importuned  to 
do  so,  would  not  pass  a  grant  of  revenue  for  any 
longer  term  than  one  year,  and  this  policy  was 
for  the  future  strictly  adhered  to.  Thus,  after  a 
vehement  struggle,  which  had  lasted  for  thirty 
years,  a  great  popular  victory  was  consummated. 

Fully  restored  to  the  confidence  of  his  council, 
whose  countenance  was  necessary  to  the  success 
of  his  land  speculations,  Clarke  continued  to  ad- 
minister the  government,  if  not  without  occa- 
sional excitement,  yet  without  provoking  the 
opposition  of  succeeding  assemblies  beyond  his 
power  to  allay. 

In  the  year  1741,  the  city  of  New  York,  then 
numbering  some  twelve  thousand  inhabitants, 
was  fearfully  agitated  by  the  pretended  discovery 
of  a  negro  plot.  On  the  18th  of  March,  the  cha- 
pel and  buildings  in  the  fort  were  consumed  by 
fire,  which  was  at  first  attributed  to  the  careless- 
ness of  a  workman  employed  in  repairing  the 


172  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [17-11. 

gutters  of  the 'governor's  residence.  A  report 
was  spread  shortly  after  that  the  fire  was  pre- 
meditated, and  seven  fires  occurring  in  succession, 
amidst  the  general  alarm  suspicion  soon  ripened 
into  certainty.  Several  slaves  were  accused  of 
having  a  knowledge  of  the  plot,  and  during  their 
examination  two  other  fires  took  place,  from  one 
of  which  a  negro  was  discovered  in  the  act  of 
making  a  precipitate  escape. 

The  evidence  of  Mary  Burton  confirmed  the 
general  impression  of  a  conspiracy.  This  woman, 
an  indented  servant  to  one  Hughson,  the  keeper 
of  a  low  tavern  to  which  negroes  were  in  the  ha- 
bit of  resorting,  testified  that  certain  slaves,  in 
her  presence  and  in  that  of  Hughson,  his  wife, 
and  another  woman,  had  consulted  together  to 
burn  the  city  and  massacre  the  whites.  Impro- 
bable as  her  relation  was,  it  was  eagerly  believed, 
and  although  in  subsequent  examinations  she 
varied  materially  from  her  previous  statements, 
the  terrified  citizens  still  persisted  in  giving  cre- 
dence to  her  testimony.  Twenty-one  whites  and 
one  hundred  and  sixty  slaves  and  free  blacks 
were  committed  to  prison.  The  Avhole  summer 
was  spent  in  prosecuting  these  unfortunate  peo- 
ple. Rumours  were  magnified  into  facts,  and  the 
wildest  assertions  accepted  for  proofs.  Thirteen 
negroes  were  burned  at  the  stake ;  eighteen  were 
hanged,  and  seventy  transported.  Hughson  and 
one  negro  were  gibbeted.    The  wife  of  Hughson, 


1743.]  EXECUTION   OF   URT.  173 

their  woman-servant,  and  Ury,  a  nonjuring  school- 
master, were  also  executed. 

Condemned  upon  insuJGScient  evidence,  in  the 
midst  of  a  tumult  of  passion,  fear,  and  prejudice, 
it  has  become  a  grave  doubt  whether  any  of  the 
victims  were  really  guilty  of  the  crime  for  which 
they  suffered  an  ignominious  death. 

The  execution  of  Ury,  who  died  asserting  his 
innocence,  was  unquestionably  a  judicial  murder. 
He  was  accused  of  covertly  exercising  the  office 
of  a  Catholic  priest — itself  a  capital  offence  in  the 
province — and  of  urging  on  the  plot  by  offers  of 
absolution  to  the  conspirators.  He  was  convicted 
on  both  indictments,  though  neither  of  the  charges 
were  legally  proved,  and  the  last  was  rendered 
totally  unworthy  of  credence  by  the  character  of 
the  witnesses.  How  many  more  persons  might 
have  suffered  from  the  combined  effects  of  terror 
and  religious  intolerance,  it  is  difficult  now  to  say; 
but  when  the  woman  Burton,  the  principal  in- 
former, bewildered  by  the  frequent  examinations 
to  which  she  had  been  subjected,  began  to  extend 
her  accusations  to  persons  of  spotless  reputation, 
a  reaction  took  place  in  the  minds  of  the  citizens, 
and  all  further  convictions  were  stayed. 

In  the  autumn  of  1743,  Governor  Clarke  was 
superseded  by  George  Clinton,  an  admiral  in  the 
British  navy,  and  uncle  to  the  young  Earl  of 
Lincoln.  Desirous  of  improving  his  fortune,  and 
neither  sensitive  nor  scrupulous,  but  easy  and 

15* 


174  HISTORY   or   NEAV   YORE.  [1743. 

good-humoured,  the  new  governor,  w-ith  the  ex- 
ception of  being  retiring  and  unsocial,  seemed 
well  calculated  to  effect  a  good  understanding 
with  the  assembly.  Having  taken  Chief  Justice 
Delancey  into  his  confidence,  the  vast  influence 
possessed  by  that  arch-intriguer  tended  to  pro- 
duce more  harmonious  action  in  the  government 
than  had  been  exhibited  for  many  years..  This 
calm  was,  however,  but  the  prelude  to  a  storm. 
Quarrelling  with  Delancey,  the  governor  became 
estranged  from  his  former  confidant,  and  took 
Golden,  a  bitter  opponent  of  the  chief  justice, 
into  his  favour  instead. 

The  latter,  placing  himself  at  the  head  of 
opposition,  and  strong  in  having  a  majority  of 
his  relations  and  friends  in  the  assembly,  com- 
menced a  series  of  violent  and  incessant  attacks 
upon  the  executive,  which  lasted  during  the  whole 
period  that  Clinton  remained  in  the  province. 

In  the  mean  time  war  had  been  declared  between 
England  and  France.  Acting  with  their  accus- 
tomed promptness,  a  French  expedition  was  im- 
mediately organized  for  a  descent  upon  Nova 
Scotia.  Fort  Cansean  was  easily  captured  ;  but 
Annapolis,  formerly  known  as  Port  Royal,  though 
twice  invested  by  a  mixed  body  of  French  and 
Indians,  was  fortunately  saved  by  a  timely  rein- 
forcement of  troops  from  Massachusetts. 

Conscious  that  while  the  French  held  posses- 
sion of  Louisburg,  a  strongly  fortified  post  on  the 


1745.]    CAPTURE  OF  CAPE  BRETON.      175 

island  of  Cape  Breton,  the  New  England  States 
"would  be  subject  to  constant  annoyances  from 
that  quarter,  Shirley,  the  governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, proj)Osed  its  reduction  by  the  colonial 
troops  alone,  and  called  upon  the  other  provinces 
to  co-operate.  The  assembly  of  New  York  were 
at  first  inclined  to  render  no  assistance,  but  at 
the  session  of  1745,  they  reluctantly  voted  three 
thousand  pounds  toward  the  expenses  of  the  ex- 
pedition, which  they  shortly  after  increased  to 
five  thousand.  Clinton,  ashamed  of  their  luke- 
warmness  in  an  afiair  of  so  much  moment,  for- 
warded to  Shirley  ten  pieces  of  field  ordnance, 
and  a  supply  of  provisions  obtained  by  private 
subscription.  The  result  justified  the  boldness 
of  the  enterprise.  On  the  17th  of  June,  after  a 
siege  of  forty-nine  days,  terms  of  capitulation 
were  agreed  upon,  and  the  garrison,  amoimting 
to  six  hundred  and  fifty  men,  with  thirteen  hun- 
dred inhabitants  of  the  town,  capable  of  bearing 
arms,  surrendered  to  the  conquerors. 

In  the  mean  time,  owing  to  the  disputes  exist- 
ing between  Clinton  and  his  assembly,  the  fron- 
tiers of  New  York  lay  open  to  incursions  from 
the  enemy.  Burning  to  revenge  the  loss  of  Lou- 
isburg,  a  party  of  French  and  Indians  were 
despatched  from  Crown  Point,  and  entering  the 
territory  of  Massachusetts,  captured  the  fort  at 
Hoosick,  in  Berkshire  county.  Penetrating  thence 
to  within  forty  miles  of  Albany,  they  surprised, 


176  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YOKE,  [1745. 

during  the  night  of  the  16th  of  November,  the  set- 
tlements around  Saratoga,  massacred  a  number  of 
the  inhabitants,  and  carried  others  into  captivity. 
Smarting  under  these  disasters,  and  inspirited 
by  the  conquest  of  Cape  Breton,  with  its  almost 
impregnable  fortress,  the  old  project  for  an  in- 
vasion of  Canada  was  revived.  Many  of  the  pro- 
vinces at  once  agreeing  to  furnish  their  respec- 
tive quotas,  levies  were  promptly  made  as  far 
south  as  Virginia.  The  New  England  troops  were 
collected  at  Louisburg,  in  readiness  to  co-operate 
with  a  British  fleet  and  army,  while  those  from 
Connecticut,  New  York,  and  the  provinces  farther 
south,  assembled  at  Albany.  The  chief  command 
of  the  latter  was  given  to  Clinton.  The  British 
fleet  failing  to  arrive,  the  New  England  levies 
were  partially  disbanded ;  but  reluctant  to  give 
up  wholly  an  enterprise  for  which  such  vast  pre- 
parations had  been  made,  fifteen  hundred  of  the 
Massachusetts  troops  marched  for  Albany  to  form 
a  junction  with  Clinton.  They  were  speedily  re- 
called by  the  unexpected  appearance  of  a  French 
fleet  off  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  commanded  by 
the  Duke  D'Anville,  and  instead  of  advancing  on 
Montreal,  the  levies  at  Albany  returned  to  assist 
in  the  defence  of  their  respective  pro^dnces.  The 
French  squadron  consisted  of  forty  ships  of  war, 
besides  numerous  transports,  having  on  board 
four  thousand  regular  troops.  Boston  being  me- 
naced, an  army  of  ten  thousand  men  was  collected 


1747.]         FEUD   WITH   THE   ASSEMBLY.  177 

in  the  vicinity,  and  the  fortifications  on  Castle 
Island  were  strengthened  and  extended.  But 
the  danger,  imminent  as  it  was,  soon  passed  away. 
The  French  fleet,  weakened  by  storms,  by  ship- 
wreck, and  by  sickness  among  the  troops,  was  in 
no  condition  to  undertake  offensive  operations. 
D'Anville  died  suddenly,  and  the  second  in  com- 
mand committed  suicide.  Another  storm  off  Cape 
Sable  completely  dispersed  the  remainder  of  the 
armament,  and  such  of  the  ships  as  escaped  the 
tempest  returned  singly  to  France. 

The  fierce  feud  existing  between  Clinton  and 
the  assembly  still  continued  to  rage  as  hotly  as 
ever,  and  charges  and  countercharges  were  con- 
stantly being  made,  couched  in  language  alike 
discreditable  to  both  parties.  The  governor  ac- 
cused the  assembly  of  wilful  neglect  in  securing 
the  protection  of  the  frontiers.  The  latter  retorted 
by  imputing  the  distressed  condition  of  the  pro- 
vince to  fraud  and  mismanagement  on  the  part 
of  Clinton.  In  the  midst  of  these  violent  agita- 
tions, which  were  prompted  neither  by  patriot- 
ism nor  integrity,  the  province  suffered  greatly. 
During  the  year  1747  Saratoga  was  a  second 
time  attacked  by  a  party  of  French  and  Indians, 
the  village  burned  to  the  ground,  and  the  inha- 
bitants barbarously  massacred.  The  peace  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  which  took  place  the  following 
year,  at  length  brought  these  alarming  incursions 
to  a  close. 


178  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1748. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Treaty  with  the  Six  Nations — Shirley's  conspiracy — Action  of 
Clinton — His  violent  disputes  with  the  assembly — Demands 
a  permanent  revenue — Their  able  reply — Clinton  appeals  to 
the  English  government — Movements  of  Shirley  and  Bel- 
cher— Walpoie's  bill  to  strengthen  the  king's  prerogative — Co- 
lonial protests — Its  defeat  in  parliament — Cautious  policy 
of  New  York — Dismissal  of  Colden — Clinton's  letters  to  the 
Board  of  Trade — Taxation  by  parliament  suggested — En- 
croachments of  the  French — Exploration  of  the  Ohio  valley 
— Attempt  to  restrict  the  limits  of  Acadia — Patent  of  the 
Ohio  company — Trading  house  built  at  Brownsville — Indian 
council  at  Albany — Duquesne  descends  into  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio — Alarm  of  the  western  Indians — Instructions  from  Eng- 
land— Sir  Danvers  Osborne  appointed  governor  of  New  York 
— His  character,  conduct,  and  death. 

In  July,  1748,  three  montlis  previous  to  the 
final  ratification  of  the  treaty,  Clinton,  accompa- 
nied by  his  chief  adviser,  Colden,  attended  a 
convention  of  delegates  from  the  Six  Nations,  at 
which  Shirley,  the  governor,  and  Hutchinson  and 
Oliver,  commissioners  of  Massachusetts,  were  by 
previous  concert  also  present.  The  conference 
terminated  satisfactorily,  the  Iroquois  and  their 
allies  agreeing  neither  to  send  deputies  into  Ca- 
nada, nor  to  allow  any  French  emissaries  within 
their  territory. 

Soon  after  the  convention  was  dissolved,  Shir- 
ley arranged  with  Clinton  a  secret  scheme  for 
shaking  ofi"  the  dependence  of  the  provincial  go- 


1748.]  DISPUTES    CONTINUED.  179 

vernors  upon  their  respective  assemblies,  by  forc- 
ing them  to  grant  permanent  salaries  and  a  re- 
venue at  the  disposal  of  the  crown ;  or,  failing  in 
that,  to  foment  existing  disputes  to  such  a  height 
as  to  compel  the  British  parliament  to  interfere. 
The  project  thus  secretly  formed  was  vigorously 
pressed  by  Clinton.  When  the  assembly  met 
in  October,  1748,  he  demanded  a  revenue  for 
five  years,  and  the  annexation  of  fixed  salaries 
to  the  offices  in  the  gift  of  the  crown,  but  not 
to  the  officials  by  name.  He  defended  his  ac- 
ceptance of  annual  grants  previously,  on  the 
ground  of  the  existing  war,  and  his  desire  to 
promote  harmony ;  but  that  now  the  time  was 
come  to  resist  the  innovations  which  had  weak- 
ened the  king's  prerogative. 

The  assembly,  in  reply,  refused  to  grant  a  sup- 
port for  any  longer  term  than  one  year,  or  to 
make  any  change  in  the  method  of  voting  sala- 
ries. Their  address,  coarse  and  bold,  closed  with 
a  vituperation  of  Golden,  who  was  characterizecl 
as  "mean  and  despicable,"  and  a  censure  of  Clin- 
ton for  admitting  him  into  his  confidence.  Charg- 
ing them  in  return  with  a  violation  of  decency, 
the  governor  refused  to  receive  the  address,  of 
which  a  copy  had  been  sent  him  for  perusal.  The 
assembly  then  appealed  through  the  newspapers 
to  the  people,  for  which  they  were  pointedly  re- 
buked by  Clinton,  who  threatened  to  send  their 
addi'ess  to  the  kins;. 


180  HISTORY   OF   KEW   YORK.  [1749. 

At  the  session  of  1749  the  dispute  was  renewed. 
A  permanent  revenue  was  again  insisted  upon, 
and  a  positive  answer  required  of  the  assembly 
whether  they  wouhi  or  would  not,  grant  it  agree- 
ably to  the  royal  instructions.  The  response  was, 
that  "  the  faithful  representatives  of  the  people 
can  never  recede  from  the  method  of  an  annual 
support."  Clinton  now  shifted  his  ground,  and 
claimed  the  right  to  disburse  the  moneys  voted  for 
public  purposes,  on  the  plea  that,  under  the  En- 
glish constitution,  the  powers  to  grant  and  to  dis- 
tribute were  vested  in  different  branches  of  the 
government.  Admitting  that  such  was  indeed 
the  usage  in  England,  the  assemjjly  denied  that 
it  ought  to  be  made  applicable  to  the  provinces. 
"In  the  one  case,"  they  said,  "the  disposition  of 
the  sums  raised  was  intrusted  to  the  king,  who 
was  supposed  to  have  an  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  his  subjects,  and  whose  officers  in  that  country 
were  amenable  to  justice.  With  provincial  go- 
vernors the  case  was  different.  They  were  gene- 
rally strangers,  who,  holding  no  land  in  the  co- 
lonies over  which  they  were  appointed  to  rule, 
seldom  regarded  the  welfare  of  the  people.  Un- 
certain how  long  they  would  be  permitted  to 
retain  their  offices,  thpy  were  eager  to  seize  every 
opportunity  of  improving  their  fortunes,  and 
would  never  want  pretexts  for  misapplication  if 
they  had  the  disposition  of  the  money.  This  they 
could  do  with  impunity,  as  the  people,  thus  plun- 


1749.]  APPEAL — Shirley's  movements.       181 

dered,  had  no  mode  of  redress,  inasmucli  as  their 
representatives  could  neither  call  the  governor  to 
account,  nor  suspend  the  council." 

This  able  vindication  of  their  course  roused  the 
indignation  of  Clinton.  Charging  them  with  being 
guilty  of  disrespect,  he  refused  to  receive  the  ad- 
dress ;  and  until  it  was  accepted  the  house  de- 
clined entering  upon  the  business  of  the  session. 
Against  conduct  so  resolute  the  governor  had  no 
remedy  but  a  prorogation. 

In  the  mean  time  Clinton  had  not  been  idle  in 
keeping  the  English  ministry  well  informed  with 
regard  to  the  dissensions  which  agitated  the  pro- 
vince. He  charged  the  assembly  with  usurping 
parliamentary  powers ;  with  restricting  the  pre- 
rogatives of  the  governor,  by  assuming  to  them- 
selves the  sole  authority  to  disburse  the  public 
money  ;  with  keeping  the  crown  officers  in  a  con- 
dition of  dependence,  by  granting  the  salaries 
annually,  and  by  naming  the  persons  to  whom 
the  salaries  were  to  be  paid.  As  an  effective 
remedy  for  this  disordered  state  of  affairs,  he 
urged  that  parliament,  whose  right  to  control  the 
colonies  had  never  been  disputed,  should  be  called 
upon  to  interpose,  and  take  from  an  intractable 
assembly  the  power  to  slight  the  king's  instruc- 
tions, or  to  weaken  the  authority  of  their  go- 
vernor. Shirley  was  equally  active,  and  Belcher, 
the  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  entered  warmly 
with  his  council  into  the  conspiracy.  Chief  Jus- 
16 


182  HISTORY    OF    NEW    YORK.  [1749. 

tice  Morris,  at  enmity  with  Delancey,  embarking 
for  England  on  business  connected  with  the  boun- 
daries between  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  un- 
dertook to  support  the  allegations  of  Clinton,  and 
Shirley  set  sail  about  the  same  time  to  quicken, 
by  his  personal  influence,  the  action  of  the  mi- 
nistry. 

But  the  representations  of  the  confederated 
governors  had  already  produced  the  desired  efi'ect 
in  England.  On  the  3d  of  March,  1749,  under 
cover  of  suppressing  the  evils  of  colonial  paper 
money,  the  Board  of  Trade,  through  Horatio  Wal- 
pole,  reported  a  bill  "to  make  all  orders  by  the 
king,  or  under  his  authority,  the  highest  law  in 
America." 

The  agents  of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut, 
Rhode  Island,  and  Pennsylvania,  immediately 
protested  against  the  proposed  measure  as  "re- 
pugnant to  the  laws  and  constitution  of  Great 
Britain,"  and  their  own  privileges  and  charters. 
Their  objections  being  sustained  by  Onslow,  the 
Speaker  of  the  house,  the  bill  was  finally  passed, 
shorn  of  its  most  obnoxious  clauses. 

But,  though  unsuccessful  in  this  insidious  at- 
tempt to  strengthen  the  royal  prerogative,  the 
Board  of  Trade  determined  to  persevere.  In 
New  York,  however,  the  introduction  of  so  im- 
portant a  measure  into  parliament  had  the  effect 
of  rendering  both  parties  more  temperate  and 
cautious.     To  guard  against  misrepresentation, 


1750.]      MODERATION   OP    BOTH    PARTIES.  183 

and  to  protect  the  general  interests  of  the  pro- 
vince, the  assembly,  as  early  as  April,  1748,  had 
appointed  an  agent  in  London  with  instructions 
to  correspond  directly  with  the  Speaker  of  the 
house.  This  agent,  Mr.  Charles,  owed  his  appoint- 
ment to  the  recommendation  of  Admiral  Sir  Peter 
Warren,  related  by  marriage  to  the  Delancey 
family.  Active  in  the  interests  of  his  employers, 
Charles  was  soon  enabled  to  inform  them  that  the 
attention  of  the  Board  of  Trade  had  been  particu- 
larly directed  to  the  disturbed  condition  of  New 
York,  and  that  they  were  preparing  a  voluminous 
report  on  the  state  of  the  province,  to  be  laid  be- 
fore the  royal  council.  The  receipt  of  tidings  so 
alarming  induced  the  assembly  to  assume  a  more 
moderate  tone. 

Clinton  also  had  his  own  causes  for  uneasiness. 
He  dreaded  a  recall ;  and  from  the  failure  of  the 
most  important  clause  in  Walpole's  bill,  was  either 
led  to  doubt  the  success  of  the  ministry  in  their 
endeavours  to  give  additional  force  to  the  royal 
orders,  or  he  feared  to  push  matters  to  extremity 
before  he  was  confident  of  receiving  efiicient  sup- 
port. Under  these  circumstances,  he  thought  it 
best  to  conciliate  opposition  by  dismissing  Col- 
den,  and  submitting  himself  to  the  cooler  coun- 
sels of  Alexander.  But  in  the  midst  of  the  tem- 
porary calm  which  succeeded,  Clinton  did  not 
fail,  during  the  spring  of  1750,  to  press  upon  the 
attention  of  the  English  government  the  absolute 


184  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1751. 

necessity  of  securing  obedience  to  the  royal  au- 
thority, and  relieving  the  crown  officers  from 
their  condition  of  dependence  upon  the  colonial 
assemblies,  by  a  system  of  parliamentary  taxation 
to  be  made  general  over  all  the  American  pro- 
vinces. Adopting  the  same  commodities  advo- 
cated by  Golden  a  year  previous,  he  suggested 
that  imposts  on  wine  and  West  India  produce 
would  be  sufficient  to  defray  the  :penses  of  the 
civil  list.  Preferring  to  attain  the  same  ends  by 
strengthening  the  king's  prerogative,  the  Board 
of  Trade  were  at  first  disinclined  to  adopt  any 
other  mode  of  reducing  the  colonies  to  obedience. 
But  the  inefficacy  of  royal  orders  becoming 
every  day  more  apparent,  they  finally  came  to 
the  conclusion,  in  the  spring  of  1751,  to  bring 
the  question  to  an  issue  in  New  York  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  new  governor,  strictly  charged  to 
demand  of  the  assembly  a  fixed  revenue,  and  the 
surrender  of  its  disposition.  A  revenue  from  the 
whole  of  the  colonies,  to  be  obtained  by  Acts  of 
Parliament,  was  at  the  same  time  resolved  upon. 
Dissensions,  however,  in  the  English  cabinet,  de- 
layed for  a  time  the  prosecution  of  measures  so 
dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  America. 

During  this  period  of  intrigue  and  dissension, 
the  French  were  steadily  persevering  in  their  ef- 
forts to  extend  the  limits  of  their  dominion  over 
the  regions  watered  by  the  Ohio  and  the  Missis- 
sippi.    In  1749,  the  Count  De  la  Gallisonie're, 


1751.]  OHIO    COMPANY.  185 

Governor- General  of  Canada,  despatclied  an  of- 
ficer, with  three  hundred  men,  with  instructions 
to  explore  the  region  of  the  Ohio,  to  bury  leaden 
plates,  engraved  with  the  arms  of  France,  at  the 
mouths  of  important  creeks,  to  take  possession  of 
the  country  by  formal  verbal  process,  and  to  for- 
bid the  Indians  from  trading  with  the  English. 

On  the  north-east  an  attempt  was  also  made  to 
restrict  the  (imputed  limits  of  Acadia  to  a  part 
of  the  peninsula  now  known  as  Nova  Scotia,  and 
the  old  French  inhabitants  were  invited  to  remove 
from  the  ceded  territory  and  open  settlements 
upon  the  newly-established  frontier,  where  forts 
had  been  established  for  their  protection.  In  the 
west  the  military  station  at  Niagara  was  im- 
proved and  strengthened,  and  permission  ob- 
tained from  the  Iroquois  to  build  a  trading-house 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Mohawk  country. 

In  the  mean  time,  to  secure  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio  to  the  English,  a  company,  organized  in 
England  and  Virginia,  had  obtained  a  grant  of  five 
hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  between  the  Kana- 
wha and  Monongahela,  on  condition  of  settling 
thereon  one  hundred  families  witliin  seven  years 
from  the  date  of  their  patent.  In  order  to  effect 
their  purpose  with  advantage,  Christopher  Gist, 
an  experienced  trader,  was  employed  by  the  Ohio 
company  to  examine  the  region  west  of  the  moun- 
tains, as  far  as  the  falls  of  the  Ohio.  His  report 
of  the  country,  and  the  amicable  disposition  of 
16* 


186  HISTORY    OF   NEW  YORK.  J[llol, 

the  western  tribes,  proving  favourable,  a  trading 
iiouse  was  erected  in  1751,  at  Brownsville,  on 
tbe  Monongahela. 

To  traverse  the  designs  of  the  French,  Clin- 
ton, acting  upon  the  advice  of  his  council,  invited 
the  governors  of  all  the  provinces  to  meet  de- 
puties from  the  Six  Nations  in  congress,  at  Al- 
bany, but  only  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and 
South  Carolina  responded  to  the  call.  The  con- 
vention met  in  July.  Old  differences  were  har- 
monized, and  a  new  treaty  of  alliance,  offensive 
and  defensive,  was  formed,  in  which  the  Cataw- 
bas  also  joined. 

Notwithstanding  these  ominous  preparations 
for  resistance,  the  Marquis  Duquesne,  the  new 
governor  of  Canada,  determined  to  maintain  the 
claim  of  France  to  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  In 
the  summer  of  1752,  he  sent  a  party  of  French 
and  Indians  to  Sandusky,  to  punish  the  Miamis 
for  trading  with  the  English  ;  and  early  the  fol- 
lowing year  pushed  forward  a  body  of  twelve 
hundred  men  to  establish  posts  at  Erie,  Water- 
ford,  and  Venango.  The  latter  being  on  the 
main  stream  of  the  Alleghany,  the  western  In- 
dians, alarmed  at  these  encroachments,  entreated 
the  Governor  of  Virginia  to  check  the  progress 
■of  the  French  by  building  a  fort  at  the  junction 
of  that  river  with  the  Monongahela,  promising 
to  .assist  in  its  defence.    Dinwiddie  wrote  to  Eng- 


1753.]       OSBORNE  SENT  OUT.  187 

land  for  advice,  and  was  ordered  to  repel  intru- 
sion by  force. 

While  the  steady  and  resolute  movements  of 
the  French  were  rapidly  tending  to  a  renewal  of 
hostilities,  the  Board  of  Trade  were  busy  with 
schemes  having  in  view  the  better  "regulation" 
of  the  colonies.  The  long-pending  difficulties 
in  New  York  first  claiming  their  attention,  they 
determined,  before  appealing  to  the  direct  action 
of  parliament,  upon  making  a  final  eifort  to  re- 
establish the  executive  authority  by  means  of 
arbitrary  instructions.  In  order  to  carry  out 
this  purpose  with  effect,  Sir  Danvers  Osborne, 
brother-in-law  to  the  Earl  of  Halifax,  was  com- 
missioned to  succeed  Clinton  in  the  government 
of  the  province,  while  at  the  same  time,  to  conci- 
liate the  refractory  assembly,  Delancey  was  ap- 
pointed lieutenant-governor. 

Osborne  was  strictly  and  imperatively  charged 
to  maintain  in  its  fullest  integrity  the  royal  pre- 
rogative, and  to  demand  of  the  assembly  "a  per- 
manent revenue,  solid,  indefinite,  and  without 
limitation,"  to  be  disbursed  by  the  governor  alone, 
under  the  advice  of  his  council. 

No  person  could  have  been  selected  more  illy 
fitted  to  perform  this  arduous  service  than  Sir 
Danvers  Osborne.  Naturally  mild,  amiable,  and 
gentlemanly,  the  recent  loss  of  a  beloved  wife 
had  utterly  overpowered  the  little  strength  of 
character  he  originally  possessed,  and  had  sub- 


188  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1753. 

jected  him  to  a  constant  depression  of  spirits 
nearly  allied  to  lunacy.  He  reached  'Ne^Y  York 
on  the  7th  of  October,  1753,  and  on  the  10th, 
after  taking  the  oaths  of  office  in  the  presence  of 
the  council,  his  commission  was  publicly  read  at 
the  town  hall.  Returning  thence  to  the  fort  with 
Clinton,  his  sensitive  nature  was  deeply  wounded 
by  the  contumelious  expressions  vented  by  the 
people  against  his  predecessor.  "  I  expect  the 
like  treatment,"  said  he,  gloomily,  "before  I 
leave  the  government."  On  his  return  to  the 
council  chamber,  the  bold  address  of  the  city 
corporation  disturbed  him  still  more.  "We  are 
sufficiently  assured,"  said  they,  "that  your  ex- 
cellency will  be  as  averse  from  countenancing, 
as  we  from  brooking,  any  infringements  of  our 
inestimable  liberties,  civil  or  religious." 

^Meeting  with  Delancey  at  dinner  the  next  day, 
Osborne  complained  of  indisposition,  and  said, 
with  a  smile,  "I  believe  I  shall  soon  leave  you 
the  government — I  find  myself  unable  to  support 
the  burden  of  it." 

The  following  day  he  convened  the  council, 
and  laying  his  instructions  before  them,  desired 
their  opinions.  "  The  assembly  will  never  yield 
obedience,"  said  ihej.  With  great  emotion  Os- 
borne next  addressed  Smith,  who  had  hitherto  re- 
mained silent :  when,  recei^^ng  a  similar  answer, 
"  he  sighed,  turned  about,  reclined  against  a  win- 


1753.]  osboris^e's  suicide.  189 

dow  frame,  and  exclaimed, '  then  what  am  I  come 
here  for  ?'  " 

Pleading  ill  health,  he  returned  to  his  lodg- 
ings in  great  mental  distress,  and  during  the 
course  of  the  evening  consulted  a  physician. 
After  dismissing  his  servant  about  midnight,  he 
burned  a  number  of  private  papers,  enclosed  and 
directed  a  sum  of  money  to  the  person  from  whom 
he  had  borrowed  it,  and  retiring  to  the  garden 
of  the  house  just  before  the  break  of  day,  delibe- 
rately hanged  himself. 


190  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YOEK,  [1751. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Lieutenant-Governor  Delancey — Royal  instructions — Course  of 
the  assembly — George  Washington — Movements  of  the 
French — First  skirmish — Death  of  Jumonville — Surrender 
of  Fort  Necessity — Congress  at  Albany — Franklin's  plan  of 
union — Rejected  by  the  colonies — Disaffection  in  Xew  York 
■ — Establishment  of  a  college — Liberal  grants  by  the  assem- 
bly for  the  defence  of  the  frontiers — General  Braddock 
appointed  commander-in-chief — Congress  of  governors  at 
Alexandria — Plan  of  campaign — Success  in  Nova  Scotia — 
Rout  of  Braddock's  army — His  death — Crown  Point  expe- 
dition— Fort  Edward  built — Approach  of  Dieskau — Skirmish 
with  the  provincials — Battle  of  Lake  George — Rout  of  the 
French — Capture  of  Dieskau — Honours  awarded  to  Johnson 
by  parliament — Neglect  of  Lyman — Inactivity  of  Johnson — 
Fort  William  Henry  built — Niagara  expedition — Reverses 
and  disappointments  of  Shirley — Sickness  of  troops — Fort 
Oswego  built. 

By  the  unexpected  death  of  Sir  Danvers  Osborne, 
the  arbitrary  measures  he  was  commissioned  to 
enforce  failed  of  their  intended  effect.  Delancej, 
the  new  lieutenant-governor,  having  been  so  long 
in  the  confidence  of  the  assembly,  was  not  dis- 
posed to  weaken  his  popularity  by  insisting  upon 
obedience  to  instructions  which  he  well  knew 
would  never  be  complied  with.  Even  the  council, 
although  a  majority  of  them  were  opposed  to  the 
extreme  views  of  the  popular  party,  were  not 
inclined  to  acquiesce  in  the  demand  for  a  fixed 
revenue.     Thus  supported,  both  by  his  friends 


1753.]         WASHINGTON    COMMISSIONED.  191 

and  opponents,  Delancey  merely  urged,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  form,  obedience  to  the  royal  mandate,  and 
having  discharged  his  duty  to  his  superiors,  left 
the  assembly  free  to  act  as  they  thought  proper. 
Under  such  circumstances  their  course  may 
readily  be  conjectured.  They  respectfully  de- 
clined making  any  change  in  the  rule  they  had 
adopted  respecting  annual  appropriations,  but 
conceded  to  the  governor  and  council  the  autho- 
rity to  disburse  the  public  moneys. 

This  firm  and  steadfast  opposition  to  the  royal 
commands  might  have  given  rise  to  serious  conse- 
quences, had  it  not  been  that  the  attention  of  the 
English  government  was  diverted  from  the  ques- 
tion of  prerogative  by  the  threatening  aspect  of 
affairs  upon  the  frontiers. 

The  colonies,  generally,  had  received  orders  to 
repel  the  advance  of  the  French ;  but  it  fell  to 
Dinwiddie,  as  governor  of  Virginia,  to  take  the 
initiative.  Desirous  of  avoiding  hostilities,  if 
possible,  he  commissioned  George  Washington, 
then  in  his  twenty-first  year,  a  native  of  Virginia, 
and  a  surveyor  by  profession,  to  cross  the  moun- 
tains witlj  a  message  to  the  French  commandant, 
demanding  that  the  French  should  withdraw  from 
the  territory  of  the  Ohio,  and  release  the  traders 
captured  at  Sandusky.  After  a  dangerous  and 
painful  journey  of  eleven  weeks,  Washington  re- 
turned. He  had  held  a  friendly  conference  with 
Tanacharison,  the  half-king,  and  various  Indians 


192  HISTORY   OF  NEW   YORK.  [1754. 

assembled  at  Logstown ;  had  carefulj  examined 
the  point  of  land  formed  by  the  junction  of  the 
Alleghany  and  Monongahela  -with  the  Ohio, 
with  a  view  to  the  construction  of  a  fort  at  that 
place ;  and  had  delivered  his  message  to  St. 
Pierre,  the  commandant  of  Fort  le  Boeuf  at  Wa- 
terford,  a  few  miles  south  of  Lake  Erie.  The 
answer  of  St.  Pierre,  and  the  unguarded  conver- 
sation of  his  officers,  rendering  it  certain  that  the 
French  were  determined  not  to  recede  from  the 
territory  of  which  they  had  taken  possession,  Din- 
widdie  convened  the  assembly  of  Virginia  in  Janu- 
ary, 1754,  and  obtained  from  them  a  grant  of  ten 
thousand  pounds  towards  the  defence  of  the 
frontiers.  Forty-one  men  were  despatched  to 
build  a  fort  at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio.  The  mili- 
tary force  of  Virginia  was  increased  to  six  hun- 
dred men,  and  Washington,  commissioned  as  lieu- 
tenant-colonel of  the  regiment,  was  ordered  to 
Alexandria  to  enlist  recruits. 

The  other  colonies  being  called  upon  for  assist- 
ance, the  assembly  of  New  York  voted,  during 
April,  one  thousand  pounds  to  Virginia,  and  de- 
spatched two  companies  of  regulars  t^  support 
the  militia  of  that  pro^dnce  ;  but  declined  giving 
any  further  aid,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  doubt- 
ful whether  the  French  had  actually  encroached 
upon  any  territory  belonging  to  the  colonies.  To 
strengthen  their  own  frontiers,  they  granted  four 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  for  an  additional  gar- 


1754.]       MOVEMENTS    OF    THE    FIIENCH.  193 

rison  at  Oswego,  and  agreed  to  become  responsi- 
ble for  the  repairs  of  that  fort,  and  to  bear  their 
proportion  of  the  expenses  which  might  be  in- 
curred in  the  erection  of  such  new  forts  as  shoukl 
be  found  necessary  for  the  common  defence. 

While  these  resolutions  were  under  debate, 
Washington,  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  was  marching  for  the  forks  of  the  Ohio,  to 
assist  in  building  the  fort  already  commenced  at 
that  point.  On  the  17th  of  April,  three  days 
before  he  reached  Wills'  Creek,  the  French,  one 
thousand  strong,  descemling  the  Alleghany  from 
Veoango,  had  driven  off  the  workmen  at  the  forks 
of  the  Ohio,  and  were  strengthening  and  com- 
pleting the  works  already  began  there,  naming 
the  post  of  which  they  had  thus  taken  forcible 
possession  Fqrt  Duquesne. 

Washington  had  no  sooner  received  this  alarm- 
ing intelligence,  than  he  resolved  to  push  forward 
and  fortify  himself  at  the  mouth  of  Redstone 
Creek,  on  the  Monongahela,  until  reinforcements 
should  arrive.  Moving  but  slowly  by  reason  of 
the  ruggedness  of  the  way,  and  the  deep  fords 
which  had  to  be  crossed,  he  was  met  at  the  cross- 
ing of  the  Youghioghany  by  a  message  from 
Tanacharison,  the  half-king,  warning  him  of  the 
approach  of  a  French  detachment,  and  their 
avowed  resolution  to  attack  the  first  English  they 
met.  Hastening  to  Great  Meadows,  he  threw  up 
an  intrenchment,  and  after  sending  out  a  small 

17 


1&4  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1754. 

mounted  party  on  wagon  horses  to  reconnoiter, 
encamped  for  the  night.  On  the  morning  of  the 
27th,  Gist,  who  had  been  the  companion  of  Wash- 
ington on  his  journey  to  Fort  le  Boeuf,  and  who 
had  opened  a  plantation  on  the  Youghioghany, 
brought  fresh  tidings  of  the  vicinity  of  the  ene- 
my. Late  in  the  evening,  an  express  arriving 
from  Tanacharison,  \Yashington  marched  with 
his  command,  through  the  rain  and  darkness,  to 
the  Indian  camp,  and  early  the  following  day,  ac- 
companied by  the  half-king  and  his  warriors, 
proceeded  in  search  of  the  enemy.  Having  dis- 
covered, the  place  of  their  concealment,  he  at- 
tacked them  by  surprise,  routed  them  with  the 
loss  of  ten  killed  and  took  twenty-one  prisoners. 
Among  the  killed  was  Jumonville,  the  com- 
mander. 

Reinforcements  coming  up  soon  after,  an  inde- 
pendent company  was  left  at  Great  Meadows  to 
build  a  stockade,  called  Fort  Necessity,  while  the 
Virginians  were  employed  in  opening  a  road  to 
Gist's  plantation,  and  a  path  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Redstone.  In  the  midst  of  these  labours  the 
French  advanced  in  force,  and  Washington  was 
compelled  to  fall  back  upon  Fort  Necessity.  On 
the  3d  of  July  the  fort  was  assaulted,  and  after 
nine  hours  fighting  a  capitulation  was  agreed  upon, 
by  the  terms  of  which  the  garrison  were  permitted 
to  retire  across  the  mountains,  bearing  with  them 
their  arms  and  baggage. 


1754.]      franklin's  plan  of  union.         195 

While  these  events  were  transpiring  on  the 
■western  frontiers,  a  convention  of  delegates  from 
the  colonies  north  of  the  Potomac,  with  the 
exception  of  New  Jersey,  assembled  at  Albany 
to  meet  the  Six  Nations  in  council,  and  to  con- 
cert measures  for  the  common  defence.  It  was 
at  this  congress  that  Franklin,  one  of  the  dele- 
gates from  Pennsylvania,  brought  forward  his 
celebrated  plan  of  union.  He  proposed  to  esta- 
blish a  grand  council,  to  consist  of  forty-eight 
members,  who  w^ere  to  be  elected  triennially  by 
the  provincial  assemblies  of  all  the  colonies,  not 
any  one  of  which  was  to  be  represented  by  more 
than  seven,  nor  less  than  two  delegates.  The 
head  of  this  federal  government  was  to  be  a  pre- 
sident-general, commissioned  by  the  crown,  with 
power  to  nominate  military  officers,  and  a  negative 
on  the  acts  of  the  council.  The  federal  govern- 
ment was  to  make  peace  or  war  with  the  Indians, 
regulate  the  Indian  trade,  purchase  lands  from 
them,  raise  soldiers,  build  forts,  equip  vessels  to 
guard  the  sea  coast,  the  lakes,  and  the  great 
rivers,  to  enact  laws,  and  levy  such  taxes  as  might 
be  equal  and  just. 

This  plan  of  union,  though  adopted  by  the  con- 
vention, was  rejected  by  the  colonial  assemblies 
as  giving  too  much  power  to  the  crown  ;  while  in 
England  it  was  regarded  by  the  Board  of  Trade 
as  favouring  the  independence  of  the  provinces. 

At  this  period  there  were  many  causes  operat- 


196  HISTORY    OF    NEW   YORK.  [1755. 

ing  to  render  New  York  disaffected  to  the  autho- 
rity of  England.  The  original  European  set- 
tlers, the  Dutch,  and  their  descendants,  had  never 
been  disposed  to  submit  patiently  to  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  their  conquerors,  and  the  breach  had  been 
widened  by  the  preferences  shown  to  the  Episco- 
palian form  of  worship.  The  restrictions  in  their 
commercial  relations  were  also  severely  felt,  and 
as  constantly  evaded  whenever  an  opportunity  of- 
fered. Nor  were  those  who  held  large  and  du- 
bious grants  of  land  better  disposed,  for  while 
some  feared  an  inquiry  into  the  validity  of  their 
titles,  others  dreaded  the  operation  of  a  land  tax. 

The  establishment  of  a  college  in  1754,  the  pre- 
sidency of  which  was  limited  to  such  as  were  in 
communion  with  the  Church  of  England,  the  mem- 
bers of  which  did  not  constitute  one-tenth  of  the 
population  of  the  province,  weakened  in  those  of 
other  religious  denominations  that  sentiment  of 
loyalty  which  many  had  hitherto  entertained, 
while  it  inflicted  the  first  serious  blow  upon  the 
popularity  of  Delancey. 

Notwithstanding  the  growing  disaffection  to- 
ward the  lieutenant-governor,  the  assembly, 
alarmed  at  the  successes  of  the  French  in  the 
Ohio  territory,  readily  acquiesced  in  his  wishes 
to  provide  for  the  defence  of  the  pro'vance,  and 
for  undertaking  such  other  operations  against  the 
enemy  as  might  be  thought  best  conducive  to  the 
common  interest.  In  February,  1755,  they  voted 


1755.]  ACTIVE   PREPARATIONS.  197 

forty-five  thousand  pounds  in  bills  of  credit ;  and 
in  May,  after  the  plan  of  the  campaign  had  been 
agreed  upon,  they  ordered  eight  hundred  men  to 
be  enlisted,  to  co-operate  with  the  forces  raising 
in  the  other  colonies,  and  appropriated  ten  thou- 
sand pounds  toward  defraying  the  expense  of  the 
enterprise. 

The  British  government  having  received  tid- 
ings of  Washington's  expulsion  from  the  Monon- 
gahela,  were  no  less  active.  Although  there  had 
been  no  formal  declaration  of  war,  they  antici- 
cipated  approaching  hostilities  by  appointing 
General  Braddock  commander-in-chief  in  Ame- 
rica, and  by  sending  -with  him  two  regiments  of 
regulars  to  assist  the  troops  levied  in  the  pro- 
vinces. On  the  fourteenth  of  April,  the  govern- 
ors of  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
Maryland,  and  Virginia,  met  Braddock  in  con- 
gress at  Alexandria,  and  concerted  with  him  the 
plan  of  the  campaign.  Four  expeditions  were 
agreed  upon.  Lawrence,  lieutenant-governor  of 
Nova  Scotia,  was  to  expel  the  French  beyond  the 
supposed  limits  of  that  province.  Johnson,  the 
Indian  agent  in  the  MohaAvk  country,  was  to 
conduct  a  mixed  force  of  provincials  and  Iroquois 
against  the  fort  at  Crown  Point.  Shirley,  the 
second  in  command  to  Braddock,  was  to  assault 
the  post  at  Niagara,  while  the  latter  in  person 
undertook  the  reduction  of  Fort  Duquesne. 

The  operations  in  Nova  Scotia  resulted  in  the 

17* 


198  HISTOET   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1755. 

♦  ' 

capture  of  Beau  Sejour,  and  the  occupation  of 
the  settlements  at  Minas  and  Annapolis  ;  but  the 
inhuman  abduction  of  the  peaceful  Acadiens  from 
their  happy  homes,  and  their  distribution  among 
the  English  colonies,  where  thej  pined  gradually 
away  in  misery  and  destitution,  has  fixed  a  stain 
upon  the  projectors  of  that  barbarous  act  which 
time  can  never  efface. 

In  the  mean  time  Braddock  was  slowly  moving 
toward  the  Ohio.  Holding  the  provincials  in 
utter  contempt,  and  profoundly  ignorant  of  the 
Indian  mode  of  warfare,  he  refused  to  throw  for- 
ward scouting  parties  in  advance  of  the  army, 
and  imprudently  suffered  himself  to  be  sui'prised 
by  a  sinall  body  of  French  and  Indians  lying  in 
ambush  within  seven  miles  of  Fort  Duquesne. 
Fighting  in  masses,  exposed  to  the  deadly  fire  of 
a  concealed  enemy,  the  troops  fell  by  hundreds. 
Braddock  himself,  after  having  had  five  horses 
disabled  under  him,  was  mdi'tally  wounded.  The 
troops  at  length  becoming  thoroughly  disorgan- 
ized, broke  and  fled,  having  sustained  a  loss  in 
killed  and  wounded  of  sixty  officers,  and  near 
seven  hundred  men.  The  Virginians  under  Wash- 
ington taking  to  the  trees,  and  fighting  with  their 
accustomed  coolness  and  courage,  assisted  in  co- 
vering the  retreat  of  the  regulars  until  nearly  the 
whole  of  them  fell  a  sacrifice  to  their  heroism. 
The  retreating  forces  were  not  rallied  until  they 
reached  the  rear  division  commanded  by  Colonel 


1755.]  DIESKAU    EMBARKS.  199 

Dunbar.  On  the  13th  of  June,  four  days  after 
the  battle,  Braddock  exph'ed  of  his  wounds,  and 
was  buried  at  the  road-side,  near  Fort  Necessity. 
Finding  the  spirit  of  the  regulars  utterly  broken, 
Dunbar  abandoned  the  expedition,  and  recross- 
ing  the  mountains,  halted  awhile  at  Cumberland, 
and  proceeding  from  thence  to  Philadelphia, 
finally  reached  Albany,  where  he  went  into  win- 
ter quarters. 

At  the  period  of  these  disasters  on  the  Ohio, 
the  New  England  troops,  under  General  Lyman, 
of  Connecticut,  in  conjunction  with  the  levies 
from  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  had  assembled, 
on  their  march  to  Crown  Point,  at  the  portage 
between  the  Hudson  and  Lake  George,  where, 
by  the  8th  of  August,  they  had  built  Fort  Ed- 
ward. When  Johnson  arrived  from  Albany,  with 
stores  and  artillery,  he  assumed  the  command. 
Leaving  a  garrison  at  Fort  Edward,  he  crossed 
the  portage  with  the  remainder  of  his  force, 
amounting,  with  the  Lidians,  to  some  thirty-four 
hundred  men,  and  encamped  on  the  southern  shore 
of  Lake  George. 

Aware  of  the  dangers  by  which  they  were  threat- 
ened, the  French  had  not  been  idle.  Shortly  after 
Braddock  had  sailed  from  England  for  the  Che- 
sapeake Bay,  Baron  Dieskau  embarked  on  board 
the  French  squadron  at  Brest,  with  four  thousand 
troops  destined  for  America.  Eluding  the  Bri- 
tish fleet  cruising  off  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland, 


200        HISTORY  OF  NE-W  YORK.      [1755. 

he  landed  a  thousand  men  at  Louisburg,  -which 
had  been  restored  to  France  by  the  treaty  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  and  sailed  ■with  the  remainder 
to  Quebec.  Having  been  instructed  to  reduce 
Oswego,  Dieskau  proceeded  to  Montreal  for  that 
purpose,  but  was  diverted  from  his  object  by 
learning  that  Crown  Point  was  menaced  by  the 
provincial  forces  encamped  on  the  margin  of 
Lake  George.  He  immediately  determined  to 
break  up  the  latter  expedition  by  an  assault  upon 
Fort  Edward,  but  as  his  Indian  alhes  were  re- 
luctant to  attempt  the  reduction  of  a  work 
strengthened  by  artillery,  he  was  persuaded  to 
change  his  design,  and  attack  Johnson  in  his 
camp. 

Unconscious  that  Dieskau  was  advancing  upon 
himself,  Johnson  sent  Colonel  Williams  with  one 
thousand  men,  and  two  hundred  Mohawk  war- 
riors, commanded  by  the  brave  Hendrick,  their 
aged  chief,  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Edward.  At 
a  distance  of  about  three  miles  from  the  camp, 
while  marching  carelessly,  and  without  any  ap- 
prehension of  meeting  the  enemy,  the  detachment 
fell  into  an  ambuscade,  and  was  speedily  thrown 
into  confusion.  Williams  and  Hendrick  were 
both  slain,  but  the  troops  being  rallied  by  Whit- 
ney, the  next  in  comand,  they  fell  back  in  good 
order  to  the  camp. 

Flushed  with  this  success,  Dieskau  pressed  im- 
mediately forward  against  Johnson.     The  camp 


1755.]     BATTLE  OP  LAKE  GEORGE.       201 

of  the  latter  was  secured  from  assault  on  the 
flanks  by  impassable  swamps,  and  in  front  by  an 
imperfect  breastwork  of  trees  hastily  felled  for 
that  purpose,  and  by  the  wagons  and  baggage  of 
the  troops.  A  few  pieces  of  cannon  brought  from 
Fort  Edward  only  two  days  before,  were  hastily 
mounted  and  disposed  along  the  line.  Dieskau, 
driving  the  fugitives  before  him,  had  hoped  by 
closing  upon  their  rear  to  penetrate  the  camp 
with  them,  and  thus  derive  an  advantage  from 
the  confusion  which  would  necessarily  ensue.  In 
this,  however,  he  was  disappointed.  Immediately 
the  artillery  opened,  the  Indians  and  Canadians 
forming  his  right  and  left  flanks,  halted,  and 
crouching  in  the  brushwood  could  not  be  prevailed 
upon  to  take  any  part  in  the  battle.  With  the 
regulars  alone  Dieskau  marched  directly  upon 
the  centre,  and  attempted  to  force  it.  Johnson 
being  wounded  early  in  the  action,  the  command 
of  the  provincials  devolved  upon  General  Lyman. 
For  five  hours,  sheltered  by  their  slender  breast- 
work, the  Americans  maintained  an  incessant  and 
well-directed  fire.  Dieskau  being  wounded  in 
several  places,  and  the  greater  portion  of  the 
regulars  terribly  shattered,  orders  were  at  length 
given  to  retreat.  The  pursuit  being  closely 
pressed  by  the  provincials,  Dieskau,  finding  him- 
self unable,  from  the  nature  of  his  wounds,  to 
keep  up  with  his  routed  army,  seated  himself  upon 
the  stump  of  a  tree,  and  ordering  his  attendants 


HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1755. 

to  place  liis  military  dress  beside  him,  dismissed 
tliem.  In  this  position  lie  was  found  by  one  of 
the  pui'suers,  who  fired  at  and  mortally  wounded 
him. 

The  same  evening  a  detachment  of  two  hun- 
dred New  Hampshire  militia,  under  McGinnis, 
sallied  out  from  Fort  Edward,  and  intercepted  a 
party  of  three  hundred  French,  who  were  retreat- 
ing in  good  order  with  the  baggage  of  the  army, 
and  after  a  spirited  conflict  completely  routed 
them.  The  loss  sustained  by  the  French  in  these 
engagements  has  been  variously  estimated ;  that 
of  the  provincials  amounted,  in  killed  and 
wounded,  to  upward  of  three  hundred  men.  For 
this  victory,  subsequently  known  as  the  battle  of 
Lake  George,  Johnson  was  created  a  baronet, 
and  received  a  grant  from  parliament  of  five 
thousand  pounds ;  while  General  Lyman,  to  whom 
the  success  of  the  provincials  Avas  mainly  attri- 
buted, obtained  no  other  reward  for  his  gallantry 
than  the  honourable  esteem  of  the  people  of  New 
England. 

Instead  of  proceeding  at  once  to  the  reduction 
of  Crown  Point,  Johnson,  apprehensive  of  an  at- 
tack with  artillery,  lingered  on  the  borders  of 
Lake  George,  where  he  employed  his  troops  in 
building  Fort  William  Henry.  "When  the  ap- 
proach of  winter  precluded  all  further  advance, 
he  left  six  hundred  men  to  garrison  the  newly- 


1755.]  SHIRLEY    UNSUCCESSFUL.  203 

erected  fortress,  and  dismissed  the  remainder  to 
their  homes. 

The  expedition  of  Shirley  against  Niagara  was 
not  even  partially  successful.  The  troops  col- 
lected for  this  enterprise,  discouraged  by  the  tid- 
ings of  Braddock's  defeat,  and  broken  down  by 
sickness  and  the  difficulties  of  the  route,  finally 
reached  Oswego  during  the  month  of  August, 
where  they  commenced  the  erection  of  a  new 
fort,  and  constructed  a  sufficient  number  of  boats 
to  bear  them  across  Lake  Ontario.  But  storms, 
heavy  rains,  and  a  scarcity  of  provisions,  com- 
bined to  delay  the  progress  of  the  enterprise  until 
the  season  was  too  far  advanced  to  attempt  it 
with  any  reasonable  degree  of  safety.  Baffled 
by  these  untoward  circumstances,  Shirley  left 
seven  hundred  men  in  garrison  at  Oswego,  and 
disbanding  the  rest  of  his  forces,  returned  to 
Albany. 


204  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1755. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Sir  Charles  Hardy  appointed  governor  of  New  York — His 
popularity  —  Congress  of  governors — Expeditions  agreed 
upon  against  Crown  Point,  Forts  Niagara  and  Duquesne — 
Surprise  of  Ticonderoga  proposed  by  Shirley — Rejected  by 
New  York — Action  of  the  assembly — Taxation  for  revenue 
resorted  to — War  formally  declared  against  France — Ob- 
noxious acts  passed  in  England — Arrival  of  Abercrombie — 
Assembling  of  the  troops — Arrival  of  Loudoun — Activity  of 
Montcalm — Oswego  attacked — Death  of  Mercer — Capitula- 
tion of  Forts  Ontario  and  Oswego — Loudoun  abandons 
offensive  operations — Quarrels  with  the  citizens  of  New 
Y"ork — Campaign  of  1757 — Futile  expedition  to  Louisburg 
— Siege  of  Fort  WiUiam  Henrj'-  —Spirited  defence  of  Monroe 
— Surrender  of  the  garrison — Lidian  outrages — Conduct 
of  Webb — Of  Loudoun — Campaign  of  1758 — Energetic 
course  of  Pitt — Louisburg  captured — Abercrombie  repulsed 
before  Ticonderoga — Fort  Frontenac  surprised  and  captured 
by  Bradstreet — Forbes  marches  against  Fort  Duquesne — 
Its  abandonment  by  the  French. 

On  the  2d  of  September,  1755,  Sir  Charles 
Hardy  arrived  at  New  York,  and  assumed  the 
government  of  the  pro^^nce ;  but  as  the  new  go- 
vernor, submitting  to  the  counsel  of  his  prede- 
cessor, did  not  seek  to  enforce  the  instructions 
with  which  he  was  charged,  he  soon  became 
popular  with  the  assembly,  a  majority  of  which 
still  consisted  of  members  friendly  to  the  interest 
of  Delancey. 

Nothing  could  more  strikingly  display  the  ne- 
cessity of  union  among  the  colonies  than  the 


1755.]     CONGRESS  OF  GOVERNORS.        205 

want  of  success  in  the  late  liostile  operations. 
With  forces  far  superior  in  point  of  numbers  to 
those  which  the  French  could  bring  into  the  field, 
the  various  expeditions  had  not  only  accomplished 
nothing  of  moment,  but,  in  the  case  of  Braddock, 
had  sustained  a  terrible  defeat,  which  encou- 
raged the  Indians  friendly  to  the  French  to  fol- 
low up  the  successes  of  their  active  ally,  by 
ravaging  and  laying  waste  the  weak  and  exposed 
frontiers. 

In  the.  midst  of  this  deplorable  state  of  affairs, 
a  congress  of  governors  and  military  officers  met 
at  New  York,  on  the  12th  of  December,  to  adopt 
a  plan  of  operations  for  the  ensuing  year.  All 
of  those  present  expressed  themselves  conscious 
that  no  imposing  success  could  attend  the  efforts 
of  the  colonies  until  parliament  should  interfere, 
and,  by  a  general  system  of  taxation  and  a  uni- 
form plan  of  operations,  give  that  unity  and 
directness  to  the  forces  employed  which  the  dis- 
orderly action  of  the  respective  colonial  assem- 
blies at  present  prevented. 

It  was,  however,  agreed  upon  by  the  council 
to  raise  an  army  of  twenty-one  thousand  men, 
one-half  of  whom  were  to  renew  the  expedition 
against  Crown  Point ;  six  thousand  to  attempt 
the  reduction  of  Fort  Niagara;  while  the  remain- 
ing five  thousand  were  to  be  employed  against 
Fort  Duquesne  and  the  settlements  on  the  Chau- 
diere.     A  subsequent  proposition  was  made  by 

18 


206  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1756. 

Shirley,  who  had  been  appointed  commander-in- 
chief,  to  surprise,  by  a  winter  expedition,  the 
post  at  Ticonderoga,  and  thereby  facilitate  the 
capture  of  Crown  Point.  But  the  assembly  of 
New  York,  to  whom  the  project  was  communi- 
cated by  the  governor,  refused  to  assist  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  enterprise,  unless  Shirley 
would  reinforce  the  provincial  troops  by  a  larger 
number  of  regulars  than  he  could  spare  without 
injury  to  the  plan  laid  down  for  the  summer 
campaign. 

For  the  latter,  however,  the  assembly  voted  a 
levy  of  seventeen  hundred  men,  and  issued  bills 
of  credit  on  the  faith  of  the  colony  to  the  amount 
of  forty  thousand  pounds.  The  previous  appro- 
priations having  exhausted  the  resources  of  the 
province,  the  assembly,  at  the  December  session, 
resorted  to  taxation  for  a  revenue.  Duties  were 
imposed  on  imports  and  on  stamps,  and  such 
other  means  were  adopted  to  meet  the  expenses 
of  the  war  as  were  thought  least  burdensome  to 
the  people. 

Great  Britain  at  length  formally  declared  war, 
and  the  Earl  of  Loudoun  was  appointed  comman- 
der-in-chief throughout  America,  with  a  commis- 
sion as  governor  of  Virginia,  and  extraordinary 
powers.  Acts  had  also  been  passed  by  parliament 
subordinating  the  provincial  officers  to  those  com- 
missioned by  the  crown,  and  for  quartering  the 
troops  on  private  houses.     Both  these  acts  gave 


1756.]  ASSEMBLY   OF   THE   TROOPS.  207 

great  oflfence  throughout  the  colonies,  which  was 
not  lessened  by  the  arrogance  and  discourtesy 
with  which  they  were  enforced. 

On  the  25th  of  June,  General  Abercromhie, 
the  second  in  command  to  Loudoun,  reached 
Albany,  having  brought  OA^er  with  him  from 
England  the  35th  regiment  and  Murray's  regi- 
ment of  Highlanders.  There  also  were  assembled  • 
seven  thousand  provincials  and  the  remains  of 
Eraddock's  regiments.  The  forts  at  Oswego,  by 
the  resolute  activity  of  Bradstreet  of  New  York, 
the  commissary-general,  had  been  amply  supplied 
with  provisions  and  stores  for  five  thousand  men. 
Intelligence  being  brought  by  the  latter  that  the 
French  were  advancing  to  the  assault  of  that  post, 
Abercrombie,  who  had  been  vainly  urged  previ- 
ously by  Shirley  to  reinforce  the  garrison,  now 
ordered  General  Webb  to  be  in  readiness  for 
that  service ;  but  his  march  was  delayed  until 
the  arrival  of  the  Earl  of  Loudoun  on  the  2Tth 
of  July.  The  main  army  at  length  prepared  to 
advance  upon  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point, 
while  Webb  was  despatched  with  his  regiment  of 
regulars  to  the  relief  of  Oswego.  It  was  then 
too  late. 

The  Marquis  of  Montcalm,  who  had  lately  suc- 
ceeded Dieskau  as  commander  of  the  French 
forces  in  Canada,  seizing  rapid  advantage  of  the 
isolated  condition  of  Oswego,  placed  himself  at 
the  head  of  a  mixed  force  of  regulars,  militia, 


208  HISTORY   OF   XEW   YORK.  [1756. 

and  Indians,  to  the  number  of  five  thousand  men. 
Ascending  the  St.  Lawrence  from  Quebec,  he 
crossed  Lake  Ontario  with  wonderful  expedition, 
and  appeared  before  the  forts  at  Oswego  on  the 
evening  of  the  12th  of  August.  These  forts, 
two  in  number,  were  situated  upon  the  right  and 
left  banks  of  the  river  from  which  the  station 
was  named,  and  at  a  short  distance  from  the 
lake.  Fort  Ontario,  built  upon  an  eminence 
which  commanded  the  more  substantial  works 
of  Oswego,  was  strongly  garrisoned  by  Peppe- 
rell's  and  Shirley's  regiments,  numbering  over 
fifteen  hundred  men.  Against  this  garrison,  on 
the  morning  of  the  13th,  Montcalm,  well  sup- 
plied with  artillery,  opened  his  fire ;  and  during 
the  whole  day  the  assault  and  defence  were  con- 
tinued with  unceasing  vigour  and  resolution. 
Finding  'his  ammunition  failing,  Mercer,  the 
English  commandant,  spiked  his  cannon,  and 
silently  evacuating  Fort  Ontario,  crossed  the 
river  under  cover  of  the  night,  and  occupied  Fort 
Oswego  with  the  greater  portion  of  his  force. 
Montcalm  promptly  took  possession  of  the  de- 
serted work,  and  commenced  an  uninterrupted 
fire  upon  the  opposite  fortress.  On  the  14th, 
Mercer  having  been  previously  killed  by  a  can- 
non-ball, the  garrison  proposed  terms  of  capitu- 
lation. The  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  was  not 
great  on  either  side ;  but  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
four  pieces  of  artillery,  six  armed  vessels,  two 


1756.]  DEFENSIVE  OPERATIONS  ABANDONED.  209 

hundred  boats  and  batteaux,  and  an  immense 
quantity  of  stores  and  provisions,  were  captured 
by  the  French.  The  garrison,  over  one  thou- 
sand in  number,  after  enduring  some  outrages 
from  the  Indians,  which  were  greatly  exagge- 
rated at  the  time,  were  sent  to  Montreal  as  pri- 
soners of  war.  To  propitiate  the  Six  Nations, 
Montcalm  razfed  the  forts,  and  returned  to  Ca- 
nada in  triumph. 

The  alarm  created  by  the  successful  achieve- 
ment of  this  important  and  ably-conducted  enter- 
prise, led  to  the  abandonment  of  offensive  opera- 
tions on  the  part  of  the  British  commanders. 
Webb,  after  advancing  as  far  as  the  Oneida 
portage,  fell  back  precipitately  to  Albany.  Lou- 
doun, the  commander-in-chief,  recalled  the  main 
army,  then  on  its  way  to  Ticonderoga,  and  after 
reinforcing  Forts  Edward  and  William,  dismissed 
the  provincials  and  ordered  the  regulars  into 
winter  quarters.  A  thousand  of  the  latter  were 
crowded  into  the  barracks  at  New  York ;  but  the 
magistrates  of  the  city  declining  to  grant  free 
lodgings  for  the  officers,  the  imperious  earl 
threatened,  that  if  the  demand  was  not  complied 
with,  he  would  billet  the  whole  of  his  forces  upon 
the  city.  This  outrageous  conduct  produced 
great  indignation  among  the  inhabitants ;  and 
though  the  difficulty  was  finally  arranged  by  pri- 
vate subscription,  the  insolent  arrogance  of  Lou- 
is* 


210  niSTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1757. 

doun  created  toward  liiin  a  general  feeling  of 
detestation. 

The  campaign  of  1757  was  equally  inglorious 
to  the  British  arms.  The  early  part  of  the  sum- 
mer was  wasted  in  preparations ;  and  it  was  not 
until  July  that  the  indolent  and  imbecile  Lou- 
doun, after  providing  for  the  safety  of  the  fron- 
tiers, was  enabled  to  leave  New  York  to  co-ope- 
rate with  a  fleet  under  Admu-al  Holborne  in  the 
attempted  reduction  of  Louisburg.  Sir  Charles 
Hardy  having  been  appointed  to  a  naval  com- 
mand in  this  expedition,  the  government  of  New 
York  was  again  left  in  the  hands  of  Delancey. 
While  Loudoun,  with  a  well-appointed  army  of 
ten  thousand  men,  was  loitering  away  his  time 
at  Halifax,  a  French  squadron  of  seventeen  sail 
anchoring  in  the  harbour  of  Louisburg  discon- 
certed the  proposed  attack.  The  indignant 
officers,  with  theii*  broken-spirited  troops,  were 
re-embarked  for  New  York. 

They  had  scarcely  set  sail  on  their  return 
from  what  was  contemptuously  called  "  a  cab- 
bage-planting expedition,"  in  allusion  to  a  vege- 
table garden  with  which  Loudoun  had  amused 
his  inactivity  at  Halifax,  before  tidings  reached 
them  of  the  capture  of  Fort  William  Henry. 
Gathering  together  the  whole  disposable  force 
of  Canada,  regulars,  Canadians,  and  Indians,  to 
the  number  of  eight  thousand  men,  Montcalm 
ascended  Lake  George,  and  on  the  2d  of  August 


1757.]    FOKT  WILLIAM  HENRY  CAPTURED.         211 

suddenly  appeared  before  the  astonished  garri- 
son. Disembarking  his  troops  at  the  southern 
point  of  the  lake,  he  sent  a  portion  of  the  Cana- 
dians to  cut  off  all  communication  with  Webb, 
who  lay  at  Fort  Edward,  only  fourteen  miles 
distant,  with  an  army  of  five  thousand  men. 
Another  strong  detachment,  under  De  Levi,  was 
posted  in  the  woods  to  the  north  of  the  fort; 
while  the  main  body  took  up  a  position  on  the 
west  side  of  the  lake.  On  the  4th  of  August, 
Monroe,  the  veteran  commander  of  Fort  William 
Henry,  was  summoned  to  surrender;  but  con- 
fidently expecting  to  be  reinforced  by  Webb,  he 
determined  upon  a  vigorous  defence.  Montcalm 
at  once  hastened  up  his  artillery  and  commenced 
the  attack.  The  conduct  of  General  Webb  in 
this  emergency  has  been  justly  censured.  During 
the  progress  of  the  siege,  Sir  William  Johnson 
repeatedly  solicited  permission  to  march  with  a 
strong  body  of  provincials  to  the  relief  of  the 
beleaguered  garrison ;  but,  labouring  under  the 
apprehension  that  Fort  Edward  would  be  the 
next  object  of  attack,  Webb  not  only  rescinded 
the  permission  which  after  much  importunity 
had  been  extorted  from  him,  but  wrote  to  Mon- 
roe, stating  his  inability  to  render  him  any  as- 
sistance, and  advising  him  to  capitulate  on  the 
best  terms  he  could  obtain. 

Notwithstanding  the  garrison  at  Fort  William 
Henry  did  not  much  exceed  two  thousand  men, 


212  HISTORY   OF   NEW  TORE.  [175T. 

the  brave  Monroe  protracted  the  defence  for  six 
days ;  "vv'hen,  his  ammunition  being  nearly  ex- 
hausted and  only  four  of  his  guns  remaining  ser- 
viceable, he  agreed  to  surrender,  on  condition 
that  his  troops  should  be  allowed  to  march  out 
with  the  honours  of  war,  and  furnished  with  an 
escort  to  Fort  Edward  sufficient  to  protect  them 
from  the  vindictive  ferocity  of  the  savages.  To 
these  terms  Montcalm  consented ;  but,  although 
both  himself  and  his  officers  perilled  their  own 
lives  to  shield  the  vanquished  garrison  from  the 
tomahawk  and  the  scalping-knife,  in  spite  of  their 
most  strenuous  personal  efforts  many  of  the  pri- 
soners were  massacred,  and  a  still  larger  number 
were  seized  and  hurried  off  into  captivity. 

Within  a  few  days  after  the  surrender  of  Mon- 
roe, Webb  had  received  additions  of  volunteers 
and  militia  until  the  force  at  Fort  Edward  was 
increased  to  twenty  thousand  men.  It  was  then, 
however,  too  late  to  render  any  effective  service. 
Satisfied  with  having  achieved  a  triumph  with  so 
little  loss  to  himself,  Montcalm,  hastily  reducing 
the  fort  and  out-buildings  to  a  heap  of  ruins, 
re-embarked  for  Canada,  bearing  with  him  the 
immense  quantity  of  stores  which  had  fallen  into 
his  hands. 

In  the  midst  of  the  alarm  created  by  this  suc- 
cessful incursion,  Loudoun  arrived  at  New  York 
from  his  fruitless  expedition  against  Louisburg, 
and,  partaking  of  the  general  panic,  proposed  to 


1758.]         ACTIVITY   OF   THE   FRENCH.  213 

encamp  on  Long  Island  for  tlie  defence  of  the 
continent.  And  thus,  amid  the  sneers  of  coffee- 
house wits  and  the  contempt  of  his  own  officers, 
the  summer  was  passed.  With  more  men  capable 
of  bearing  arms  in  a  single  province  than  there 
were  male  inhabitants  in  the  whole  territory  of 
Canada,  and  with  an  army  of  regulars  amounting 
to  twenty  thousand  men,  the  English  had  been 
shamefully  expelled  from  the  valley  of  the  Ohio 
and  from  the  borders  of  Lake  Ontario  and  Lake 
George.  The  French,  victorious  in  every  engage- 
ment, not  only  held  possession  of  the  disputed 
territory,  but  had  succeeded  in  coercing  the  Six 
Nations  to  a  position  of  neutrality ;  while  their 
own  Indian  allies,  spreading  themselves  along 
the  frontiers  from  Massachusetts  to  Virginia, 
scarcely  met  with  any  resistance  to  their  fero- 
cious and  sanguinary  career. 

The  campaign  of  1758  opened  under  happier 
auspices.  William  Pitt,  who  "trampled  upon 
impossibilities,"  and  who  had  risen  solely  by  the 
force  of  his  commanding  talents  from  the  humble 
station  of  a  cornet  of  dragoons  to  the  head  of  the 
British  cabinet,  no  sooner  found  himself  in  a  po- 
sition to  act  without  restraint,  than  he  sought, 
with  all  the  energies  of  his  large  mind,  to  effect 
a  radical  change  in  the  aspect  of  American 
affairs.  Thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  condi- 
tion of  the  colonies,  he  appeased  the  just  discon- 
tent of  the  officers  attached  to  the  provincial 


214  HISTORY   OF   XEW  TOEK.  [1758. 

levies  by  rescinding  the  odious  army  regulations, 
and  allowing  all,  from  the  rank  of  colonel  down- 
ward, an  equal  command  with  the  British.  By 
a  circular  addressed  to  the  respective  governors 
he  called  for  all  the  men  they  could  raise,  to  co- 
operate with  the  sea  and  land  forces  about  to  be 
sent  from  England  ;  taking  upon  himself  to  pro- 
vide arms,  ammunition,  tents,  and  provisions  ; 
and,  while  requiring  of  the  colonists  to  clothe 
and  pay  their  levies,  he  promised  that  even  these 
expenses  should  be  reimbursed  by  parliament. 

His  requisitions  were  promptly  met  by  a  hearty 
response.  The  governments  of  New  England 
were  profusely  liberal.  New  York  enlarged  her 
quota  from  one  thousand  seven  hundred  men  to 
two  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty,  and  voted 
one  hundred  thousand  pounds  to  defray  the 
charges  of  their  service  and  equipment.  Lou- 
doun was  recalled,  and  Abercrombie  appointed 
commander-in-chief.  Early  in  May,  fifty  thou- 
sand men,  including  twenty-two  thousand  regu- 
lars, were  ready  to  take  the  field. 

The  plan  of  the  campaign  embraced  three  ex- 
peditions :  Admiral  Boscawen,  with  a  squadron 
of  thirty-eight  ships  of  war  and  an  army  of  four- 
teen thousand  men  under  Amherst,  assisted  by 
Brigadier-General  Wolfe,  was  to  attempt  the 
reduction  of  Louisburg ;  while  Abercrombie,  with 
fifteen  thousand  men,  advanced  against  Ticonde- 
roga ;  and  Forbes,  with  six  thousand  regulars  and 


1758.]     CAPTURE  OF  LOUISBURO.        215 

provincials,  marclied  to  tlie  conquest  of  Fort  Du- 
quesnc  and  the  expulsion  of  the  French  from  the 
valley  of  the  Ohio. 

On  the  8th  of  June  Boscawen  appeared  before 
the  fortress  at  Louisburg,  and  the  same  day  the 
troops  were  disembarked  and  the  works  invested. 
The  siege  was  pressed  with  great  caution  and 
energy  until  the  27th  of  July,  when,  the  French 
ships  of  war  in  the  harbour  having  been  destroyed 
or  taken,  the  garrison  capitulated,  and  the  islands 
of  Cape  Breton  and  St.  Johns  were  immediately 
taken  possession  of  by  the  conquerors. 

During  the  progress  of  this  siege,  Abercrombie 
marched  from  Fort  Edward  with  nine  thousand 
provincials  and  six  thousand  regulars,  and  em- 
barking in  one  thousand  boats  and  batteaux, 
sailed  down  Lake  George,  bearing  with  him,  on 
rafts  prepared  for  that  purpose,  his  artillery  and 
military  stores.  The  cloudless  sun  of  that  July 
morning  looked  down  upon  a  magnificent  array 
of  troops  in  scarlet  and  gold,  of  burnished  arms, 
and  of  waving  banners,  while  the  shores  of  the 
lake  echoed  back  the  inspiring  sounds  of  martial 
music,  by  which  the  movements  of  the  flotilla 
were  accompanied..  On  the  6th  of  July,  in  a  cove* 
on  the  west  side  of  the  lake  and  near  to  its  out- 
let, the  army  landed,  and  soon  after,  following 
the  windings  of  the  river,  moved  in  four  columns 
along  the  west  bank  of  the  stream,  the  regulars 
in  the  centre  and  the  provincials  on  the  flanks. 


216  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1758. 

While  advancing  in  some  confusion  over  the  un- 
even ground  of  the  dense  forest,  the  right  centre 
under  Lord  Howe  suddenly  encountered  near 
Trout  Brook  a  detachment  of  three  hundred 
men,  who,  having  been  sent  by  Montcalm  to 
watch  the  movements  of  the  English,  had,  in 
falling  back  during  the  previous  night,  lost  their 
way  in  the  woods.  A  sharp  but  brief  skirmish 
ensued,  which  ended  in  the  complete  rout  of  the 
French.  One  hundred  and  fifty-seven  men  were 
taken  prisoners,  the  remainder  being  either  killed 
or  dispersed.  But  this  petty  triumph  was  sad- 
dened by  the  loss  of  Lord  Howe,  who  was  shot 
dead  at  the  hekd  of  his  column  when  the  firing 
first  commenced. 

After  encamping  in  the  forest  for  the  night, 
Abercrombie  thought  of  falling  back  to  the  place 
of  landing ;  but  by  the  energy  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Bradstreet,  the  bridges,  which  had  been 
broken  up  by  the  enemy  above  and  below  the 
falls  of  the  stream,  were  renewed ;  and  a  circuit 
of  the  stream  being  thus  avoided,  the  army  took 
possession  of  the  Saw-mills,  a  strong  military  po- 
sition, within  one  mile  and  a  half  of  the  works  at 
Ticonderoga. 

These  works  consisted  of  Fort  Carillon,  sur- 
rounded on  three  sides  by  the  waters  of  the  lake, 
and  obstructed  landward,  on  the  north,  by  a  mo- 
rass. To  defend  the  approach  from  the  north- 
west, Montcalm  had  thrown  up  a  breastwork  of 


1758.]  ABERCROMEIE    REPULSED.  217 

locrs,  before  which  an  abatis  had  been  formed  of 
trees  felled,  with  their  branches  sharpened  and 
extending  outward.  The  force  within  the  lines, 
by  the  opportune  arrival  of  a  detachment  under 
De  Levi,  amounted,  on  the  evening  of  the  7th 
of  July,  to  three  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty 
men. 

On  the  morning  of  the  8th,  Clerk,  the  chief 
engineer,  who  had  been  despatched  to  recon- 
noitre the  lines,  returned  and  reported  them 
easily  practicable.  Without  waiting  for  his  ar- 
tillery, Abercrombie  at  once  determined  to  carry 
the  breastworks  by  storm,  although  Mount  De- 
fiance, an  eminence  commanding  the  works,  was 
in  possession  of  his  troops,  and  a  few  pieces  of 
cannon  judiciously  placed  upon  it  would  have 
rendered  Ticonderoga  utterly  untenable,  with 
little,  if  any,  loss  to  the  besiegers.  Having 
made  his  dispositions  for  the  attack,  the  troops, 
with  the  regulars  in  front,  were  ordered  to  ad- 
vance with  fixed  bayonets,  rush  through  the  fire 
of  the  enemy,  and  reserve  their  own  until  they 
had  passed  the  breastworks.  Unconscious  that 
on  the  right  of  the  French  the  fortifications  were 
unfinished,  the  storming  party  bore  down  upon 
that  portion  of  the  works  which  was  most  strong- 
ly protected  by  cannon. 

The  resolute  and  sagacious  Montcalm  instantly 
seized  advantage  of  the  error.  Stripping  off  his 
coat,  he  drew  his  sword,  and  forbidding,  under 

19 


218  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1758. 

penalty  of  death,  a  single  musket  to  be  fired 
until  he  gave  the  word,  he  waited  silently  until 
the  English  had  become  embarrassed  by  the 
limbs  of  the  trees  and  by  the  loose  logs  and 
other  entangling  rubbish  of  which  the  abatis  had 
been  formed.  Then,  at  the  given  signal,  the  fire 
of  his  artillery  and  musketry  opened,  and  swept 
ofi"  the  assailants  by  hundreds.  Checked  for  the 
moment,  but  not  dismayed,  the  troops  returned 
to  the  assault,  and  for  four  hours  persevered  in 
their  desperate  attempt  to  force  a  passage  over 
the  breastwork ;  while  the  French,  covered  by 
their  intrenchments,  kept  up  an  incessant  and 
destructive  fire  with  but  little  loss  to  themselves. 
Daring  even  to  the  extreme  of  rashness,  the  re- 
gulars, entangled  at  every  step  they  took,  made 
successive  attempts  upon  the  centre,  upon  the 
left,  and  upon  the  right ;  but  at  length  becoming 
bewildered  by  the  prodigious  slaughter,  they 
commenced  to  fire  upon  each  other,  when  Aber- 
crombie  ordered  the  attack  to  be  abandoned, 
and  retreated  precipitately  across  the  lake,  with 
a  loss,  in  killed  and  wounded,  of  nearly  two 
thousand  men. 

The  army,  disheartened  and  discontented,  had 
no  sooner  reached  Fort  William  Henry,  than 
Bradstreet  solicited  permission  to  lead  a  strong 
force  of  provincials  against  Fort  Frontenac.  A 
detachment  of  three  thousand  men  being  reluc- 
tantly placed  at  his  disposal,  he  proceeded  at 


1758.]        FORT    FRONTENAC    DESTROYED.  219 

once,  by  forced  marches,  from  Lake  George  to 
Albany,  ascended  the  Mohawk  River,  crossed 
the  portage  to  Oneida  Lake,  embarked  at  Oswe- 
go in  open  boats,  sailed  down  Lake  Ontario,  en- 
tered the  St.  Lawrence,  and  landing  within  a 
mile  of  the  fort,  invested  it  on  the  26th  of  Au- 
gust ;  and  on  the  following  day  compelled  the 
astonished  garrison  to  surrender.  By  this  bril- 
liant exploit,  thirty  pieces  of  cannon,  sixteen 
small  mortars,  and  nine  armed  vessels,  employed 
in  supplying  Duquesne  and  the  other  southern 
forts  with  military  stores,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Bradstreet.  Fort  Frontenac,  a  strong  stone 
structure,  was  laid  in  ruins  ;  and  of  its  garrison, 
one  hundred  men  became  prisoners  of  war,  as 
many  more  having  previously  sought  safety  by 
flight.  In  twenty-four  days  Bradstreet  was  back 
at  the  Oneida  portage,  having  lost  but  few  men 
by  the  enemy,  though  some  five  hundred  of  his 
detachment,  principally  from  New  York,  died 
soon  after  of  sickness. 

In  the  mean  time,  General  Forbes  was  on  his 
way  to  Fort  Duquesne,  marching  slowdy,  cutting 
a  new  road  as  he  went,  greatly  to  the  indigna- 
tion of  Washington,  who  would  have  pushed  for- 
ward by  the  old  route  opened  for  Braddock's 
army.  It  was  not  until  the  5th  of  November 
that  the  main  body  of  the  troops  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  camp  at  Loyal  Hanna.  The  sea- 
son being  so  far  advanced,  and  a  distance  of 


220  HISTORY    OF    NEW    YORK.  [1758. 

fifty  miles  of  unbroken  forest  yet  remaining  to 
be  traversed,  it  was  decided  by  a  council  of  war 
to  relinquish  the  expedition  until  the  following 
year.  Fortunately,  at  this  juncture  three  pri- 
soners were  brought  in,  from  whom  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  the  garrison,  cut  off  from  their  usual 
supplies  by  the  capture  of  Fort  Frontenac,  had 
been  deserted  by  their  Indian  allies,  upon  whose 
fidelity  the  hope  of  a  successful  defence  had 
mainly  depended.  Inspirited  by  these  tidings, 
Forbes  resolved  to  leave  behind  him  the  heavy 
baggage  and  artillery,  and  press  forward  at 
once.  Washington,  at  his  own  solicitation,  was 
thrown  in  advance  to  clear  the  way  for  the 
main  army.  But  the  obstacles  were  many  and 
the  progress  slow ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  25th 
of  November  that  the  troops  took  peaceable  pos- 
session of  the  ruins  of  Fort  Duquesne,  the  French 
having  fired  and  abandoned  it  the  day  previous. 
The  structure  was  immediately  ordered  to  be  re- 
newed and  strengthened,  and  having  been  sup- 
plied with  a  garrison  of  four  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  was  named  Fort  Pitt,  in  honour  of  the  mi- 
nister whose  energy  and  decision  had  so  greatly 
contributed  to  the  general  success  of  the  cam- 
paign. 


1759.]  CAMPAIGN  OF  1759.  221 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Campaign  of  1759 — ^Plan  of  conquest — Prideaux  marches 
against  Fort  Niagara — Invests  it — Is  killed — Attempts  of  the 
French  to  raise  the  siege — Their  defeat — Capitulation  of  the 
ganison  —  March  of  Amherst  —  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point  deserted — Wolfe  sails  for  Quebec — Takes  possession 
of  the  Isle  of  Orleans — Quebec — Its  situation  and  defences — 
Defended  by  Montcalm — His  encampment — Attempt  to  fire 
the  British  fleet  frustrated — Occupation  of  Point  Levi — 
Wolfe  encamps  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Montmorenci — 
Battle  of  Montmorenci — The  English  repulsed — Murray 
ordered  up  the  St.  Lawrence — The  heights  of  Abraham — 
Plan  of  attack — Daring  movement  of  Wolfe — Its  success — 
Incredulity  cf  Montcalm — Preparations  for  battle — The 
English  victorious — Death  of  Wolfe — Montcalm  mortally 
wounded — Capitulation  of  Quebec — De  Levi  attempts  to 
recapture  it — Capture  of  Montreal — Final  conquest  of 
Canada.  7 

Emboldened  by  the  advantages  already 
gained,  Pitt  now  resolved  upon  the  entire  con- 
quest of  Canada.  His  call  upon  the  colonies 
for  additional  levies  for  the  campaign  of  1759 
was  met  with  alacrity.  New  York  voted  her 
previous  quota  of  two  thousand  six  hundred  and 
eighty  men,  and  appropriated  one  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds  for  their  levy  and  equipment. 

The  plan  of  conquest  embraced  three  expedi- 
tions, separately  commanded.  While  Prideaux 
marched  against  the  fort  at  Niagara,  Amherst, 
who  had  succeeded  Abercrombie  as  commander- 

19® 


222  HISTOKY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1759. 

in-cliief,  was  to  advance  upon  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point,  and,  after  reducing  those  places, 
was  to  proceed,  by  way  of  Lake  Cliamplain  and 
the  Sorel  River,  to  the  assistance  of  Wolfe,  who, 
supported  by  a  powerful  fleet  under  Admiral 
Saunders,  had  been  ordered  to  attempt  the  re- 
duction of  Quebec. 

The  first  blow  was  struck  by  Prideaux.  Leav- 
ing a  portion  of  his  troops  at  Oswego  to  recon- 
struct a  fort  at  that  place,  he  embarked  on  Lake 
Ontario  with  about  two  thousand  regulars  and 
provincials,  reinforced  by  several  hundred  L-o- 
quois  warriors  led  by  Sir  William  Johnson ;  and 
landing  on  the  6th  of  July,  without  opposition,  a 
few  miles  east  of  the  peninsula  upt)n  which  the 
ruins  of  Fort  Niagara  are  yet  to  be  seen,  in- 
vested it  in  form. 

Anxious  to  preserve  a  station  of  so  much  im- 
portance to  the  safety  of  the  interior  posts, 
detachments  from  the  garrisons  at  Detroit,  Le 
Boeuf,  Venango,  and  Erie,  to  the  number  of 
twelve  hundred  men,  accompanied  by  a  strong 
body  of  Indian  auxiliaries,  hastened  to  the  relief 
of  the  besieged. 

Receiving  early  intelligence  of  the  danger  by 
which  he  was  menaced,  Prideaux  made  his  ar- 
rangements to  meet  it.  Being  killed  on  the  15th 
of  July  by  the  bursting  of  a  cohorn,  the  chief 
command  devolved  upon  Sir  William  Johnson, 
who,  faithfully  following  out  the  plans  of  his 


1759.]  TICONDEROGA   TAKEN.  223 

predecessor,  posted  his  troops  between  the  fort 
and  the  cataract,  so  as  to  intercept  the  advance 
of  the  French.  On  the  morning  of  the  24th  of 
July  the  latter  made  their  appearance,  and  the 
Avar-whoop  of  their  Indian  allies  was  the  signal 
for  battle.  The  contest  was  sustained  with  great 
firmness  and  determination  for  nearly  an  hour ; 
but  the  Iroquois,  gaining  the  flanks  of  the 
French,  succeeded  in  throwing  them  into  confu- 
sion, and  the  English  charging  at  the  same  mo- 
ment, a  panic  ensued  which  ended  in  the  total 
rout  of  the  relieving  force,  large  numbers  of 
whom,  hotly  pursued,  were  killed  in  the  sur- 
rounding forests.  The  next  day  the  garrison, 
six  hundred  and  seven  in  number,  capitulated ; 
and  communication  with  Erie,  Le  Boeuf,  and  Ve- 
nango being  thus  cut  oiF,  those  posts  were  aban- 
doned soon  after. 

While  the  western  army  was  investing  Fort 
Niagara,  Amherst  marched  for  Ticonderoga. 
With  eleven  thousand  regulars  and  provincials 
he  descended  Lake  George  in  four  columns  of 
boats,  and  on  the  22d  of  July  disembarked  his 
troops  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  outlet,  nearly 
opposite  to  the  point  where  Abercrombie  had 
landed  previously.  The  French  being  defeated 
the  same  evening  in  a  skirmish  at  the  Saw-mills, 
Bourlamarque,  their  commander,  abandoned  the 
lines  from  behind  which  Montcalm  had  repulsed 
his  assailants  with  so  much  slaughter,  leaving 


224  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1759. 

behind  him  four  hundred  men  to  garrison  the 
fortress.  Cautiously  advancing,  Amherst  took 
possession  of  the  deserted  works  ;  but,  before  his 
batteries  were  completed,  the  garrison  blew  up 
their  magazines,  and  on  the  26th  retreated  to 
Crown  Point.  On  the  31st,  they  evacuated  the 
latter  fort  also,  and  fell  back  to  Isle-aux-Noix, 
where,  thirty-five  hundred  in  number,  well  fur- 
nished with  artillery,  and  having  a  naval  supe- 
riority on  the  lake,  they  proceeded  to  entrench 
themselves.  The  repair  of  the  abandoned  forts, 
and  the  construction  of  vessels  of  sufficient 
strength  to  cope  with  those  of  the  enemy,  occu- 
pied the  attention  of  Amherst  until  the  10th  of 
October,  when,  not  knowing  that  Quebec  had 
abeady  fallen,  he  set  sail  for  the  purpose  of  co- 
operating with  Wolfe ;  but  being  bafiled  by 
adverse  winds,  he  returned  to  Crown  Point  on 
the  21st,  and  dispos-ed  of  his  troops  in  winter 
quarters. 

As  soon  as  the  harbour  of  Louisburg  was  free 
from  floating  ice,  Wolfe,  having  under  him  Bri- 
gadiers Monckton,  Townsend,  and  Murray,  all 
three  of  whom  were  young  men  of  station  and 
affluence,  had  embarked  his  army  of  eight  thou- 
sand men  under  convoy  of  a  fleet  of  forty-four 
ships  of  the  line,  frigates,  and  armed  vessels, 
commanded  by  Admiral  Saunders,  and,  ascend- 
ing the  St.  Lawrence,  had  landed  his  forces  on 


1759.]  QUEBEC.  225 

the  27th  of  June  upon  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  a 
few  miles  below  Quebec. 

The  defence  of  the  latter  city  had  been  under- 
taken by  the  Marquis  Montcalm,  whose  troops, 
although  superior  in  numbers  to  the  British,  con- 
sisted of  less  than  two  thousand  regulars,  the 
remainder  being  militia  and  Indians.  He  there- 
fore wisely  determined  to  avoid  a  battle,  if  pos- 
sible, and  to  depend  upon  the  natural  strength 
of  the  country.  The  advantages  which  this  gave 
him  he  had  sedulously  improved  to  the  utmost. 

Situated  upon  a  point  of  land  formed  by  the 
junction  of  the  St.  Charles  with  the  St.  Law- 
rence, Quebec  consisted  of  an  upper  and  a  lower 
town,  which,  besides  being  protected  on  the  north 
and  south  by  those  rivers,  were  fortified  with 
great  care  and  art.  The  lower  town,  washed  by 
the  river,  nestling  at  the  base  of  a  bold  and  rocky 
precipice,  forty-eight  feet  in  height,  was  over- 
looked by  the  upper  town  and  citadel,  which 
crested  the  summit.  This  rocky  and  precipitous 
wall,  extending  for  a  considerable  distance  west- 
wardly  along  the  St.  Lawrence,  opposed  an 
almost  impracticable  barrier  to  any  attempt 
which  might  be  made  to  surmount  it ;  and  for 
nine  miles  above  and  below  the  city,  or  from 
Cape  Rouge  to  the  Falls  of  the  Montmorenci, 
every  weak  point  had  been  strengthened  and 
protected.  To  guard  these  extensive  lines, 
Montcalm  had  encamped  his  troops  behind  in- 


226  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1759. 

trenchments  along  the  shore  below  Quebec,  the 
centre  of  his  position  being  the  village  of  Beau- 
port,  while  his  wings  extended  to  the  St.  Charles 
on  the  one  side  and  the  Montmorenci  on  the 
other.  Such  were  the  obstacles  which  it  was 
required  of  Wolfe  to  overcome  before  he  could 
hope  to  obtain  possession  of  the  city. 

The  troops  had  scarcely  disembarked,  before 
a  furious  storm  arose,  in  the  midst  of  which 
several  of  the  smaller  craft  foundered.  Some 
of  the  vessels  of  war  also  lost  their  anchors,  and 
several  of  the  transports  sustained  serious  da- 
mage. Taking  advantage  of  the  confusion 
arising  from  this  occurrence,  the  French  let 
loose,  on  the  night  of  the  28th,  a  fleet  of  fire- 
ships,  which,  floating  down  with  the  tide,  created 
considerable  alarm ;  but  the  sailors  resolutely 
boarded  them,  and  towing  them  ashore,  freed 
the  shipping  in  the  river  from  the  danger  by 
which  they  had  been  menaced. 

On  the  next  night,  Brigadier  Murray,  with 
four  battalions,  was  despatched  across  the  south 
channel  to  take  possession  of  Point  Levi,  oppo- 
site to  Quebec,  and  to  commence  the  construc- 
tion of  battei'ies  for  mortar  and  cannon.  While 
these  works  were  in  progress,  sixteen  hundred 
of  the  citizens  of  Quebec,  foreseeing  the  destruc- 
tion which  must  ensue,  volunteered  to  cross  the 
river  and  destroy  them ;  but,  being  seized  with 
a  panic,  they  fell  into  confusion,  fired  on  one 


1759.]  ATTACK    ON    QUEBEC.  227 

another,  and  retreated  in  disorder.  The  artil- 
lery opened  soon  after  with  great  effect ;  shells 
and  red-hot  balls  entirely  destroying  the  lower 
town,  and  considerably  damaging  the  upper. 
The  distance  being  found  too  great  to  make  any 
impression  upon  the  citadel,  and  the  strong  river- 
works  protecting  the  place  from  assault,  Wolfe, 
eager  to  bring  Montcalm  to  battle,  crossed  the 
north  channel  on  the  night  of  the  9th  of  July, 
and  encamped  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Mont- 
morenci,  opposite  to  the  left  wing  of  the  French 
encampment. 

On  an  examination  of  the  river,  a  ford  was 
discovered  about  three  miles  from  its  mouth ; 
but  the  opposite  bank  was  intrenched,  and  so 
steep  and  woody,  that  the  passage  was  pro- 
nounced impracticable.  A  reconnoissance  was 
next  made  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  above  Quebec, 
but  the  bold  shore  was  found  equally  well  pro- 
tected by  nature  and  art.  Notwithstanding  the 
obstacles  which  everywhere  presented  themselves, 
Wolfe  projected  an  attempt  to  be  made  at  St. 
Michael's  Cove,  three  miles  above  the  city ;  but 
Montcalm  foiled  the  design  by  planting  a  mortar 
and  artillery  at  that  point  to  play  upon  the  ship- 
ping. A  landing  at  the  cove  being  thus  rendered 
too  hazardous,  Wolfe  returned  to  his  camp  on  the 
Montmorenci,  and  adopted  the  desperate  resolu- 
tion of  crossing  that  river  below  the  falls,  where 
it  was  fordable  for  several  hours  between  the 


228  HISTORY    OF    NEW    YORK.  [1759. 

latter  part  of  the  ebb  and  the  beginning  of  the 
flood  tide. 

Accordingly,  on  the  morning  of  the  31st  of 
July,  the  brigades  of  Townsend  and  Murray 
were  ordered  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to 
take  advantage  of  the  tide  and  pass  the  river  on 
foot,  while  a  detachment  of  grenadiers  and  a 
part  of  Moiickton's  brigade  were  descending  from 
Point  Le\i  to  co-operate  with  them. 

At  the  proper  time  of  the  tide,  the  signal  be- 
ing made,  Townsend's  corps  was  put  in  motion, 
and  at  the  same  moment  the  boats  crossed  the 
St.  Lawrence  ;  but  the  latter  grounding  on  a 
ledge,  were  thrown  into  confusion,  and  consider- 
able time  was  lost  before  they  could  be  gotten 
off.  During  this  interval,  the  march  of  Town- 
send's corps  was  delayed,  while  Wolfe,  accom- 
panied by  several  naval  officers,  pushed  off  in  a 
flat-bottomed  boat,  and  selected  a  better  place 
for  the  troops  to  land.  Thinking  it,  even  then, 
not  too  late  to  make  an  attack,  a  disembarkation 
was  ordered.  Thirteen  companies  of  grenadiers 
and  two  hundred  of  the  second  Royal  American 
battalion  being  the  first  to  reach  the  shore,  were 
directed  to  form  and  begin  the  assault,  so  soon 
as  Townsend's  corps  had  crossed  the  ford,  and 
the  forces  under  Monckton  had  arrived  within 
supporting  distance. 

But,  without  waiting  even  to  form,  the  advance 
party  rushed  forward  in  impetuous  disorder  to 


1759.]  ATTACK    ON    QUEBEC.  229 

storm  the  intrenchments.  Great  numbers  of  tliem 
being  swept  away  by  the  close  and  well-directed 
fire  which  immediately  opened  upon  them,  the 
remainder  were  driven  to  seek  shelter  in  and 
around  a  redoubt  which  the  French  had  aban- 
doned on  their  approach.  Unable  to  organize 
under  so  destructive  a  fire,  they  were  compelled 
to  remain  under  cover  until  the  approach  of 
night,  when  Wolfe  directed  their  recall,  fearing 
that  the  returning  tide  would  expose  the  troops 
which  had  crossed  the  Montmorenci  to  the  dan- 
ger of  being  cut  off  by  the  enemy.  The  retreat 
was  effected  in  good  order  and  without  loss ;  but 
five  hundred  men  had  previously  been  killed  and 
wounded ;  such  of  the  latter  as  could  not  be 
brought  off,  were  subsequently  murdered  and 
scalped  by  the  savages. 

Immediately  after  this  severe  repulse,  Mur- 
ray, with  twelve  hundred  men,  assisted  by  a  por- 
tion of  the  fleet  under  Rear-Admiral  Holmes, 
was  sent  up  the  river  to  endeavour  to  destroy 
some  French  ships,  and  open  a  communication 
with  Amherst.  Two  different  attempts  made 
by  this  detachment  to  effect  a  landing  on  the 
north  shore  were  repulsed ;  but  on  a  third,  Mur- 
ray succeeded  in  surprising  a  weak  military 
guard  at  Deschambault,  and  in  burning  a  maga- 
zine containing  provisions  and  military  stores. 
From  some  prisoners  captured  at  the  latter  place, 
Wolfe  learned  for  the  first  time  that  Niagara  had 

20 


238)  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1759. 

surrendered,  that  the  forts  at  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point  had  been  abandoned,  and  that 
Bourlamarque,  with  three  thousand  men,  was 
fortifying  himself  at  Isle-au-Noix. 

For  a  long  time  Wolfe  waited  hopefully  for 
the  approach  of  Amherst,  until,  chafing  at  his 
own  ill  success,  and  worn  down  by  toil,  watch- 
ing, and  anxiety,  he  fell  ill  of  a  fever.  Even 
during  this  period  of  physical  prostration,  the 
ardour  of  his  mind  remained  unabated,  and  he 
proposed  to  his  principal  ofiicers  several  despe- 
rate plans  of  attack,  which  were  respectively 
abandoned.  At  length  it  was  resolved  to  pro- 
ceed up  the  river,  and  attempt,  by  an  assault  on 
the  city,  to  bring  on  a  general  engagement.  The 
troops  were  accordingly  transported  from  the 
camp  at  Montmorcnci  to  Point  Levi ;  but,  after 
a  long  and  careful  examination,  the  approaches  to 
the  citadel  were  found  to  be  so  strongly  intrench- 
ed and  fortified,  that  although  the  batteries  of 
the  lower  town  might  have  been  silenced  with 
ease  from  the  ships,  the  latter  would  have  been 
subjected  to  considerable  damage  from  the  mor- 
tars planted  on  the  heights ;  and  so  dangerous 
and  unpromising  did  the  undertaking  appear, 
that  Wolfe  would  not  propose  it  to  the  admiral. 

By  this  time  the  month  of  September  had  set 
in,  and  there  remained  only  one  hazardous  chance 
of  success.  A  close  scrutiny  of  the  north  shore 
had  revealed  to  the  quick  eyes  of  Wolfe,  at  a 


1759.]       ATTACK  ON  QUEBEC.  231 

short  distance  above  the  city,  a  narrow  in- 
trenched path,  very  difficult  of  ascent,  winding 
up  the  steep  acclivity  from  the  beach  formed  by 
a  small  cove  of  the  river,  and  terminating  in  the 
Heights  of  Abraham.  This  path  was  protected 
by  a  battery  of  four  guns,  supported  by  a  small 
force  of  Canadian  militia,  whose  tents  gleamed 
whitely  on  the  summit  of  the  heights.  Here 
Wolfe  resolved  to  disembark  five  thousand  men 
secretly  by  night,  and,  climbing  the  bank,  to 
form  them  on  the  plain  above  in  the  rear  of  the 
town,  where  the  fortifications  were  weakest ; 
although  the  rapidity  of  the  stream,  the  narrow- 
ness of  the  landing-place,  and  the  numerous  sen- 
tinels posted  watchfully  along  the  shore,  added 
greatly  to  the  danger  of  the  enterprise  and  the 
probability  of  an  early  discovery. 

The  troops  destined  for  this  service  were  ac- 
cordingly transported  to  a  considerable  distance 
up  the  river,  and  all  the  necessary  preparations 
having  been  made,  at  one  o'clock  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  13th  they  dropped  silently  down  the 
river  in  boats,  without  using  oar  or  sail,  but 
trusting  to  the  force  of  the  current  only.  The 
ships  followed  shortly  after  to  cover  the  landing. 
"Who  goes  there  ?"  shouted  a  sentinel  from  the 
shore,  as  the  boats  were  gliding  quietly  down 
with  the  stream.  "La  France!"  promptly  re- 
sponded an  English  captain,  in  the  language  of 
the  challenger.     "What  regiment?"  demanded 


23i  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1759. 

the  sentinel.  "DelaReine!"  replied  the  cap- 
tain, who  recollected  that  such  was  the  name  of 
a  regiment  Avhich  had  been  sent  up  the  river 
under  Bougainville  to  watch  the  movements  of 
the  English.  "Pass  on  !"  said  the  guard.  They 
were  subsequently  hailed  again  several  times,  but 
averted  detection  by  similar  replies.  One  of  the 
sentinels,  however,  was  more  suspicious.  Run- 
ning down  to  the  water's  edge,  he  exclaimed, 
"Why  don't  you  speak  louder?"  "Hush!  we 
shall  be  overheard!"  said  the  captain,  signi- 
ficantly, and  the  boats  were  suffered  to  pass 
without  further  interruption.  Some  struck  the 
landing-place,  and  others  fell  a  little  below  it. 
The  troops  from  the  latter,  among  whom  was 
Wolfe,  aided  by  bushes  and  projecting  roots, 
clambered  up  the  precipitous  wall  of  rock,  nearly 
two  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  dislodging  the 
guard  intrusted  with  the  defence  of  the  pathAvay, 
were  speedily  joined  by  their  companions.  By 
daybreak  the  whole  of  the  troops  had  surmounted 
the  obstacles  which  had  impeded  then-  progress, 
and  stood  in  battle  array  upon  the  Plains  of 
Abraham. 

When  the  intelligence  first  reached  Montcalm, 
he  received  it  with  incredulity,  for  he  had  never 
conceived  the  possibility  of  any  large  body  of 
men  succeeding  in  so  daring  and  perilous  an  en- 
terprise. The  tidings  being  confirmed  soon  after, 
he  sent  swift  messengers  to  Bougainville  and  De 


1759.]     BATTLE  ON  THE  PLAINS.        233 

Vaudreuil,  the  one  commanding  fifteen  hundred 
and  the  other  two  thousand  men,  to  join  him 
•with  all  possible  despatch ;  but  after  waiting  im- 
patiently for  some  time  without  being  reinforced 
by  either,  he  crossed  the  St.  Charles  to  dare  the 
issue  which  had  been  thus  suddenly  forced  upon 
him.  By  ten  o'clock  the  two  armies,  each  about 
five  thousand  in  number,  stood  opposed  to  each 
other  in  order  of  battle. 

The  advantage  of  the  ground  was  with  Mont- 
calm, but  his  troops,  composed  partly  of  militia 
and  Indians,  were  far  inferior  to  the  English. 
After  a  cannonade  of  nearly  an  hour,  from  three 
small  field-pieces  on  the  part  of  the  French, 
and  two  on  that  of  the  English,  Montcalm,  hav- 
ing posted  fifteen  hundred  irregulars  under  cover 
of  the  corn-fields  and  bushes  in  front,  advanced 
with  the  intention  of  outflanking  the  British. 
This  movement  being  frustrated  by  Wolfe,  who 
despatched  Townsend  with  the  regiment  of  Am- 
herst to  form  on  the  left,  so  as  to  present  a  dou- 
ble front  to  the  enemy,  Montcalm,  taking  his 
station  on  the  left  of  his  line,  opposite  to  where 
Wolfe  stood  at  the  head  of  his  grenadiers,  ad- 
vanced with  a  dashing  intrepidity  to  the  attack. 

The  English  troops,  disregarding  the  skir- 
mishers, by  whom  they  were  considerably  an- 
noyed, reserved  their  fire  until  the  main  body 
of  the  enemy  approached  within  forty  yards, 
'when  they  opened  with  such  a  regular,  incessant, 

20* 


234  HISTOKY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1759. 

and  destructive  discharge  of  musketry,  that  the 
French  soon  exhibited  signs  of  faltering.  Mont- 
calm was  wounded,  and  his  second  in  command 
killed.  Profiting  by  the  terrible  check  which  his 
adversary  had  sustained,  Wolfe  ordered  a  charge 
with  fixed  bayonets,  himself  leading  the  twenty- 
eighth  and  the  grenadiers.  At  this  prompt  and 
well-timed  movement  the  French  gave  way ;  but 
as  Wolfe  moved  forward  in  advance  of  his  sol- 
diers, he  received  a  musket-ball  in  the  wrist. 
Wrapping  his  handkerchief  about  the  wound,  he 
continued  to  lead  his  men.  He  was  soon  after 
struck  more  dangerously  by  a  second  bullet,  but 
intent  only  upon  securing  the  victory,  he  con- 
cealed the  knowledge  of  it  from  those  about  him, 
and  still  pressed  on.  Just  as  the  French  were 
becoming  completely  disorganized,  a  third  bullet 
pierced  his  breast,  and  he  was  carried  to  the 
rear  mortally  wounded.  While  reclining  upon 
the  ground,  supported  by  one  of  his  officers,  he 
questioned  him  eagerly  respecting  the  progress 
of  the  battle.  Being  told  that  the  French  ranks 
were  greatly  disordered,  he  desired  to  be  lifted 
up,  that  he  might  once  more  view  the  field,  but 
his  eyes  were  already  growing  dim.  Suddenly 
the  officer  exclaimed,  "  They  run  !  they  run  !" 
"Who  run?"  said  Wolfe.  "The  French!"  re- 
plied the  officer.  "What,  do  they  run  already?" 
he  responded ;  and  for  a  few  moments  the  ap- 
proach of  death  was  suspended  by  the  tidings  he 


1759.]        DEATH  OP  WOLFE.  235 

had  heard.  He  gave  rapid  directions  that  Webb's 
regiment  should  be  marched  to  Charles'  River  to 
intercept  the  fugitives,  and  then  exclaiming, 
"Now,  God  be  praised!  I  die  happy!"  he  fell 
back  in  the  arms  of  his  attendants,  and  expired. 

Monckton  being  dangerously  wounded,  the 
chief  command  fell  upon  Townsend.  The  pur- 
suit of  the  fugitives  was  stayed  soon  after,  and 
the  troops  recalled.  This  was  scarcely  effected 
before  Bougainville,  hastening  to  the  assistance 
of  Montcalm,  made  his  appearance  upon  the  field 
with  a  reinforcement  of  two  thousand  men  ;  but 
the  victory  was  already  won.  After  some  sharp 
skirmishing,  he  secured  the  safety  of  his  detach- 
ment by  withdrawing  into  the  neighbouring 
woods  and  swamps. 

The  fate  of  Quebec  was  now  no  longer  doubt- 
ful, for  Montcalm,  the  only  man  whose  genius 
might  yet  have  saved  it  from  capture,  had  also 
been  wounded  mortally  while  attempting  to  rally 
a  party  of  fugitives.  Expressing  himself  thank- 
ful that  he  should  not  live  to  see  the  surrender 
of  the  city,  he  wrote  the  same  evening  to  Town- 
send,  recommending  the  French  prisoners  to  his 
humanity,  and  died  early  the  following  morning. 
In  this  important  battle  the  French  lost  five 
hundred  in  killed  and  a  thousand  in  wounded 
and  prisoners.  The  loss  of  the  English  amounted 
only  to  fifty  men  killed,  though  their  wounded 
numbered  upward  of  five  hundred. 


236  HISTOKY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1759. 

Preparations  for  besieging  the  city  were  im- 
mediately commenced  by  Townsend,  but  on  the 
seventeenth  of  September,  before  any  of  the 
batteries  were  constructed,  the  garrison  capitu- 
lated. With  the  fall  of  Quebec  ended  the  French 
dominion  over  Canada.  During  the  following 
spring,  a  daring  attempt  was  made  by  De  Levi 
to  retake  the  city,  which,  for  a  time,  promised 
to  be  successful ;  but  the  opportune  arrival  of  an 
English  fleet  finally  frustrated  the  enterprise ; 
and  Montreal  being  taken  by  Amherst  early  the 
ensuing  September,  the  conquest  of  Canada  was 
completed. 


1760.]        CANADA  RETAINED.  237 


CHAPTER  XVni. 

Retention  of  Canada  determined  upon — Spain  joins  France 
against  England — Treaty  of  Fontainebleau — Death  of  De- 
lancey  — Administration  of  Golden  —  Monckton  appointed 
governor — Ordered  to  Martinique — Independence  of  the  Ju- 
diciary struck  at — Alarm  of  New  York — Ditficulties  between 
New  York  and  New  Hampshire — Financial  embarrassment 
of  England — Action  of  the  ministry — Stamp-tax  passed — Its 
reception  in  New  York — Golden  burned  in  effigy — Stamp- 
tax  repealed — Townsend's  scheme  of  taxation — Action  of  the 
colonies — Pusillanimous  conduct  of  the  New  York  Assembly 
— Alexander  McDougal — His  imprisonment  and  popularity — 
Rapid  increase  of  New  York  in  population  and  wealth — Dun- 
more  appointed  governor — Removed  to  Virginia — Transfers 
the  government  to  Tryon — Regulators  in  North  Carolina — ■ 
Their  defeat — Disturbances  respecting  the  New  Hampshire 
grants — Resistance  to  state  authority' — 'Tea  sent  to  America 
— Proceedings  of  the  colonies — Congress  at  Philadelphia — 
Battle  of  Lexington.  g 

The  expulsion  of  the  French  foi'ces  from  Ca- 
nada, and  its  occupation  by  the  British,  created 
a  general  joy  throughout  the  provinces.  The 
merits  of  Wolfe,  Amherst,  and  their  subordinate 
officers,  were  extolled  in  the  highest  terms.  Con- 
gratulatory addresses  poured  in  upon  Pitt  from 
all  quarters.  France,  impoverished  and  humili- 
ated, desired  peace  at  almost  any  sacrifice.  In 
view  of  this  event,  the  American  colonies  were 
unanimous  in  their  desire  to  retain  Canada  as  an 
English  possession.  Pitt,  and  most  of  the  other 
members  of  the  cabinet,  entertained  similar  sen- 


238  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1762. 

timents ;  and  Clioiseul,  the  French  minister,  bent 
tijDon  putting  an  end  to  a  war  so  inglorious  for 
his  country,  was  not  disposed  to  insist  upon  its 
restoration.  Pitt,  however,  while  lending  a  fa- 
vourable ear  to  propositions  for  peace,  stead- 
fastly persevered  in  his  preparations  for  a  con- 
tinuance of  the  war.  Choiseul  desired  to  retain 
a  harbour  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  the 
freedom  of  the  fisheries.  These  concessions  Pitt 
refused,  and,  while  negotiations  were  still  pend- 
ing, sent  out  a  powerful  fleet,  which  captured 
Belle  Isle.  A  third  party  now  entered  into  the 
quarrel. 

Aggrieved  by  the  establishment  of  English 
commercial  posts  in  the  Bays  of  Honduras  and 
Campeachy,  and  conscious  of  being  too  weak  to 
obtain  redress  single-handed,  Spain,  during  the 
Slimmer  of  1761,  entered  into  a  secret  treaty 
with  France,  under  the  title  of  the  Family  Com- 
pact ;  and,  although  diflferences  in  the  English 
cabinet  led  at  this  juncture  to  the  resignation  of 
Pitt,  war  soon  after  broke  out  afresh.  The  Bri- 
tish forces  proving  everywhere  victorious,  nego- 
tiations were  again  proposed,  and  on  the  3d  of 
November,  1762,  peace  was  finally  ratified  by 
the  treaty  of  Fontainebleau. 

By  the  sudden  death  of  Delancey,  toward  the 
close  of  July,  1760,  the  administration  of  the 
government  of  New  York  had  devolved  upon 
Cadwallader  Golden,  as  president  of  the  council. 


1762.]       ATTEMPTS   ON   THE   JUDICIARY.  2S9 

Appointed  the  following  year  lieutenant-governor, 
he  was  superseded  in  the  chief  magistracy  soon 
after  by  General  Monckton  ;  but  the  latter  had 
scarcely  presented  his  commission  as  governor, 
before  he  was  ordered  to  take  command  of  an 
expedition  against  Martinique,  and  Colden  again 
assumed  the  reins  of  government. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Board  of  Trade,  in  pur- 
suance of  their  determination  to  attempt  the  re- 
storation of  the  royal  prerogative  in  America, 
had  struck  at  the  independence  of  the  colonial 
judiciary  by  making  the  tenure  of  the  judicial 
commissions  subject  to  the  king's  pleasure,  in- 
stead of  during  good  behaviour,  as  formerly.  The 
office  of  chief-justice  of  New  York  having  become 
vacant,  the  appointment  of  Pratt,  a  Boston  lawyer, 
was  made  the  first  test  of  colonial  obedience. 
The  subordinate  judges,  whose  commissions  were 
supposed  to  have  expired  at  the  death  of  George 
II.,  having  also  reluctantly  consented  to  continue 
to  serve,  subject  to  the  same  restriction,  the  as- 
sembly became  alarmed  at  the  dangerous  charac- 
ter of  the  innoA'^ation,  and  resolved  to  resist  it, 
by  refusing  to  grant  the  customary  salaries. 
Equally  determined  to  carry  out  the  measures 
they  had  projected,  the  Board  of  Trade,  in  June, 
1762,  recommended  to  the  king  that  the  salaries 
of  the  provincial  judges  should  be  paid  out  of  the 
royal  quit-rents.  The  advice  was  adopted,  and 
the  system  of  a  judiciary  wholly  dependent  upon 


240  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1767. 

the  crown,  as  established  in  New  York,  was  di- 
rected also  to  be  applied  to  the  other  provinces. 

During  this  period  of  anxiety,  serious  diificul- 
ties  had  arisen  between  the  governments  of  New 
York  and  New  Hampshire,  in  respect  to  grants 
made  by  the  latter  of  lands  lying  between  the 
Connecticut  River  and  Lake  Champlain.  Both 
provinces  claimed  this  territory — since  known  as 
the  state  of  Vermont — to  be  within  the  limits  of 
their  respective  jurisdictions ;  but  a  royal  order, 
promulgated  on  the  17th  of  June,  1767,  decided 
the  dispute  in  favour  of  New  York.  Had  the 
government  of  the  latter  province  been  content 
to  exercise  the  authority  thus  conceded  without 
interfering  with  the  grants  previously  issued  by 
New  Hampshire,  and  for  which  the  settlers  had 
already  paid,  the  controversy  would  have  ceased. 
But  the  greater  portion  of  the  territory  in  dis- 
pute being  already  covered  by  the  New  Hamp- 
shire grants,  most  of  the  sturdy  pioneers  refused 
to  purchase  their  lands  a  second  time,  and  or- 
ganized themselves  into  parties  for  the  purpose 
of  resisting  the  ejectments  which  the  executive 
officers  endeavoured  to  enforce. 

But  a  mightier  quarrel  was  at  this  time  begin- 
ning to  engross  the  attention  of  the  American 
people.  The  long-contemplated  project  of  draw- 
ing a  revenue  from  the  colonies  at  length  ap- 
proached matui'ity.  The  remarkable  series  of 
victories  which  had  exalted  the  power  of  Eng- 


1765.]  STAMP   ACT    PASSED.  241 

land,  and  secured  to  licr,  by  the  treaty  of  Fon- 
tainebleau,  a  vast  accession  of  territory,  had,  at 
the  same  time,  by  the  enormous  expenses  of  the 
war,  plunged  the  nation  into  a  condition  of  the 
most  alarming  financial  embarrassment.  As  this 
distress  arose  in  part  from  the  heavy  charges 
incurred  in  protecting  the  American  colonies, 
the  ministry  sought  to  rid  themselves  of  so  great 
a  burden  for  the  future  by  attempting  to  draw  a 
revenue  from  the  provinces  sufficient  to  defray 
the  cost  of  their  support  and  defence.  By  ob- 
taining this  revenue  through  the  action  of  parlia- 
ment, the  power  of  the  provincial  assemblies 
would  be  so  curbed  and  restricted  as  to  be  easily 
subordinated  to  the  royal  authority.  Accord- 
ingly, in  1763,  Grenville,  the  chancellor  of  the 
exchequer,  notified  parliament,  in  addition  to 
minor  measures  devised  for  the  same  purpose, 
of  his  intention  to  bring  forward  a  bill  by  which 
all  bonds,  deeds,  notes,  and  various  other  neces- 
sary business  papers  used  in  America,  should 
require  to  be  drawn  upon  stamped  paper,  to  be 
issued  by  the  British  government,  and  sold  only 
by  agents  duly  authorized. 

At  the  ensuing  session  of  1764  parliament 
formally  avowed  the  right  to  tax  the  colonies; 
and  in  March,  1765,  the  Stamp  Act  passed  both 
houses  with  but  little  opposition.  In  addition  to 
this,  an  act  called  the  Quartering  Act  was  passed, 
by  which  the  ministry  were  authorized  to  keep 
21 


242  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1765. 

up  a  standing  army  in  America,  the  respective 
colonies  being  required  to  furnisli  quarters  for 
the  troops,  together  with  firewood,  soap,  bed- 
ding, drink,  and  candles.  No  sooner  did  the 
passage  of  these  acts  become  known  to  Virginia 
and  Massachusetts,  than,  impressed  with  their 
dangerous  character,  they  took  the  lead  in  oppo- 
sition. The  other  provinces  speedily  followed 
their  example.  Committees  of  correspondence 
were  formed,  and  a  call  for  a  colonial  congress 
was  responded  to  by  a  convention  of  delegates 
at  New  York  during  the  month  of  October.  The 
session  continued  for  three  weeks.  A  declara- 
tion of  rights  was  agreed  to ;  a  petition  to  the 
king,  and  a  memorial  to  both  houses  of  parlia- 
ment, all  of  them  able  and  eloquent  papers,  were 
drawn  up  and  signed  by  a  large  majority  of  the 
members.  The  principle  of  taxation  without  re- 
presentation was  indignantly  repudiated,  and 
everywhere  combinations  were  formed  to  resist 
the  introduction  of  the  stamped  paper. 

In  New  York  the  denunciation  of  the  stamp- 
tax  was  both  fierce  and  vehement.  Copies  of  the 
act  were  publicly  hawked  about  the  streets,  un- 
der the  title  of  "  The  folly  of  England  and  ruin 
of  America;"  and  the  excitement  finally  rose  to 
so  high  a  pitch,  that  the  stamp  distributor  re- 
signed his  appointment,  and  when  the  stamps 
arrived,  ioward  the  close  of  October,  refused  to 
have  any  thing  to  do  with  them.      Colden  being 


1765.]  "SONS   OF   LIBERTY."  243 

thus  in  a  measure  compelled  to  assume  charge 
of  the  obnoxious  papers,  they  were  by  his  orders 
conveyed  into  the  fort  for  safe  keeping. 

On  the  evening  of  the  1st  of  November,  the 
day  appointed  for  the  Stamp  Act  to  go  into  ope- 
ration, a  party  of  citizens,  many  of  whom  had 
organized  themselves  under  the  name  of  "  Sons 
of  Liberty,"  broke  open  the  stable  of  Golden,  ad- 
joining the  fort  walls,  and  seizing  his  carriage, 
marched  with  it  in  procession  through  the  prin- 
cipal streets,  until  they  reached  the  common. 
After  hanging  Golden  in  effigy,  they  returned 
with  great  parade  to  the  Bowling-green,  where, 
under  the  muzzles  of  the  fort  guns,  they  burned 
the  carriage  and  effigy  together.  The  excite- 
ment continuing  for  several  days.  Golden  became 
alarmed,  and  finally  agreed  to  surrender  the 
stamps  to  the  city  authorities.  In  the  midst  of 
these  disturbances  Sir  Henry  Moore  arrived,  and 
took  upon  himself  the  functions  of  governor. 

Up  to  this  time,  most  of  the  wealthier  inhabit- 
ants had  not  openly  taken  part  in  the  quarrel ; 
but  emboldened  by  the  success  which  had  at- 
tended the  efforts  of  their  sturdier  fellow-citi- 
zens, many  of  them  now  •  publicly  joined  the 
ranks  of  the  disaffected.  On  the  6th  of  Novem- 
ber they  held  a  meeting,  which  resulted  in  the 
formation  of  a  committee  to  correspond  with  the 
other  provinces,  and  an  agreement  to  import  no 


244  HISTORY    OF   NEW   YORK.  [1766. 

more  goods  from  Great  Britain  until  their  griev- 
ances were  redressed. 

Opposition  to  the  Stamp  Act  being  universal 
throughout  America,  and  a  change  having 
already  taken  place  in  the  British  ministry, 
great  hopes  were  entertained  that  the  tax  would 
be  repealed  at  the  ensuing  session  of  parliament. 
Nor  were  those  hopes  fallacious.  Pitt  rose  in 
his  place,  and  denied  the  right  of  parliament  "to 
levy  a  tax  on  the  colonies ;"  and  although  Gren- 
ville  strove  to  defend  the  bill,  and  charged  the 
Americans  with  being  in  open  rebellion,  on  the 
19th  of  March,  1766,  the  Stamp  Act  was  an- 
nulled. 

But  the  gratification  which  was  felt  through- 
out America  at  this  result  was  only  of  brief  du- 
ration. Basing  their  repeal  of  the  obnoxious 
act  upon  the  ground  of  expediency  rather  than 
of  justice,  parliament  reasserted  their  right  to 
tax  the  colonies ;  and,  in  accordance  with  this 
assertion,  Charles  Townsend,  the  new  chancellor 
of  the  exchequer,  on  the  plea  of  regulating  trade, 
brought  forward  a  bill  imposing  duties  on  tea, 
paints,  paper,  glass,  and  lead.  About  the  same 
time,  an  act  was  also  passed  to  compel  the  as- 
sembly of  New  York  to  comply  with  the  provi- 
sions of  the  Quartering  Act,  and  forbidding  them, 
in  the  mean  time,  to  legislate  for  any  other 
purpose. 

The  determination  evinced  by  parliament  to 


1769.]  DUTIES   REPEALED.  245 

raise  a  revenue  without  the  concurrence  of  the 
colonial  assemblies  was  opposed  at  once  by  the 
latter.  Committees  of  correspondence  again  be- 
came active,  and  resolutions  were  very  generally 
adopted  not  to  import  any  goods  from  Great 
Britain  but  such  as  the  wants  of  the  people  ren- 
dered absolutely  necessary.  The  assembly  of 
New  York  declining  to  make  provision  for  the 
troops,  that  body  was  twice  dissolved ;  but,  sup- 
ported in  opposition  by  the  popular  voice,  ex- 
hibited no  inclination  to  submit  to  ministerial 
dictation. 

Townsend's  insidious  scheme  of  taxation, 
though  adopted  under  the  pretence  of  regulating 
commerce,  soon  proved  as  complete  a  failure  as 
the  Stamp  Act  by  which  it  was  preceded.  Oppo- 
sition throughout  the  colonies  growing  mo.re  in- 
tense and  vehement,  the  English  ministry,  be- 
coming alarmed  at  the  storm  they  had  evoked, 
addressed,  in  1769,  a  letter  to  the  colonies,  pro- 
mising a  repeal  of  all  the  duties  imposed  under 
Townsend's  act,  with  the  exception  of  that  upon 
upon  tea, — a  promise  which  was  carried  into  effect 
the  following  year. 

At  this  period,  distressed  by  the  increasing 
differences  concerning  the  New  Hampshire 
grants,  and  rendered  uneasy  by  the  dissolution 
of  two  successive  assemblies,  and  by  the  rapid 
growth  of  republican  sentiments,  many  of  the 
wealthier  inhabitants  of  New  York  sought  to  re- 

21* 


246  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1770. 

trace  their  steps  and  confirm  their  loyalty  by 
the  election  of  members  to  a  new  assembly  whose 
political  sentiments  should  partake  of  a  more 
conservative  character.  In  this  effort  they  suc- 
ceeded after  a  sharp  contest ;  and  under  the  in- 
fluence of  a  triumphant  majority  the  moderate 
party,  as  they  were  styled,  consented  to  accept 
the  conditions  of  the  Quartering  Act,  and  made 
provision  for  the  troops. 

Outraged  by  this  pusillanimous  course  of  con- 
duct, Alexander  McDougal,  a  prominent  leader 
of  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  called  a  public  meeting 
of  the  citizens,  denouncing  the  acts  of  the  assem- 
bly as  a  betrayal  of  the  trust  reposed  in  them. 
So  bold  an  address  roused  the  indignation  of  the 
assembly,  who  declared  it  false  and  seditious,  and 
ordereji  the  imprisonment  of  McDougal.  This 
rigorous  exercise  of  power  did  but  inflame  the 
more  the  ardour  of  the  patriotic  party.  jMcDou- 
gal  was  extolled  as  a  martyr  to  the  cause  of 
liberty ;  while  the  soldiery,  who  undertook  to 
become  the  champions  of  the  assembly,  were 
not  unfrequently  brought  into  collision  with  the 
populace. 

Notwithstanding  this  untoward  condition  of 
things,  the  province  of  New  York  increased  in 
popvilation  and  wealth  with  almost  unexampled 
rapidity.  In  the  year  1770  it  contained  more 
than  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  inhabitants, 
many  of  whom  were  sturdy  pioneers,  who,  push- 


1770.]  TRYON   MADE   GOVERNOR.  247 

ing  out  into  the  forest,  cleared  settlements  along 
the  borders  of  the  Mohawk,  Wood  Creek,  and 
the  head  of  Lake  Champlain. 

After  exercising  the  gubernatorial  authority 
for  four  years,  Sir  Henry  Moore  died,  and  Col- 
den,  now  extremely  old,  again  assumed  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  government.  The  following 
year,  1770,  he  was  superseded  by  Lord  Dunmore ; 
but  the  latter,  after  exercising  the  office  for  a 
few  months,  was  commissioned  as  governor  of 
Virginia,  transferring  the  chief  authority  in  New 
York  to  William  Try  on,  who,  as  governor  of 
North  Carolina,  had  distinguished  himself  by 
the  energy  with  which  he  had  put  down  the 
Regulators — men  who  had  banded  themselves 
together,  ill  the  first  instance,  to  resist  the  exac- 
tion of  oppressive  fees  and  the  payment  of  taxes 
but  too  frequently  appropriated  to  the  personal 
use  of  the  authorized  collectors.  Growing  bolder 
with  increase  of  numbers,  these  Regulators  began 
to  indulge  in  excesses  which  justly  rendered  them 
amenable  to  the  laws  of  the  province.  Discoun- 
tenanced by  the  assembly,  and  persevering  in  the 
commission  of  various  outrages,  Tryon  placed 
himself  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  militia  from  the 
lower  counties,  and  marched  against  them.  The 
Regulators  at  once  assembled  in  force,  and  gave 
battle  to  Tryon  at  Alamance,  near  the  head 
waters  of  Cape  Fear  River.  After  a  sharp  con- 
test, they  were  signally  defeated,  leaving  some 


248  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1774. 

t-wo  hundred  of  their  number  dead  upon  the 
field. 

Removed  to  New  York,  Tr  jon  was  soon  called 
upon  to  exercise  his  abilities  in  a  more  diflBcult 
field  of  action.  The  conduct  of  the  settlers  hold- 
ing lands  under  the  disputed  grants  from  New 
Hampshire  had  become,  year  by  year,  more  firm 
and  decided,  while  that  of  the  New  York  officials 
was  equally  pertinacious.  The  lands  of  many 
who  refused  to  take  out  new  patents  were  sold 
over  their  heads,  and  the  sheriffs  received  orders 
to  place  the  new  purchasers  in  possession. 
Armed  combinations  were  immediately  formed, 
headed  by  men  of  great  energy  and  determina- 
tion of  character ;  one  of  the  principal  leaders 
being  Ethan  Allen,  soon  to  be  favoui'ably  known 
through  his  intrepid  seizure  of  Ticonderoga. 

All  negotiations  proving  ineffectual,  and  the 
controversy  threatening  to  break  out  into  civil 
war,  the  assembly,  at  the  session  of  1774,  passed 
an  act  declaring  armed  resistance  to  the  go- 
vernment a  capital  offence.  At  the  same  time, 
Tryon  offered  a  reward  for  the  apprehension  of 
Ethan  Allen,  Seth  "Warner,  and  some  six  other 
prominent  offenders.  But  neither  legislation  nor 
proclamation  availed  to  subdue  the  spirit  of  the 
mountaineers.  Repudiating  the  title  of  rioters, 
they  yet  resolved,  in  general  convention,  to  resist 
by  force  of  arms  all  attempts  at  ejectment  which 
might  be  made  under  the  orders  of  the  authori- 


1774.]    CAEGOES  OF  TEA  REJECTED.      249 

ties  ;  while  the  leaders,  for  whose  arrest  a  reward 
had  been  offered,  publicly  proclaimed  their  de- 
termination to  kill  any  person  or  persons  who 
should  attempt  to  take  them  prisoners. 

But  the  long -pending  controversy  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  American  colonies,  by  di- 
recting public  attention  to  evils  of  greater  mag- 
nitude, was  soon  to  put  an  end  to  all  civil  dissen- 
sions. Firmly  resolved  to  resist  taxation  in  any 
shape,  except  such  as  emanated  from  the  action 
of  their  own  representatives,  the  people  of 
America  very  generally  agreed  to  abandon  the 
use  of  tea,  so  long  as  it  came  to  them  burdened 
with  a  duty  ;  and  although  that  duty  was  merely 
nominal,  they  declined,  for  the  most  part,  to  pur- 
chase it,  as  involving  in  an  insidious  form  the  prin- 
ciple against  which  they  had  so  long  contended. 
The  British  government,  with  a  view  of  carrying 
their  point,  having  offered  a  drawback  equal  to 
the  amount  of  duty,  the  East  India  Company, 
believing  that  the  point  at  issue  would  now  be 
abandoned,  instantly  despatched  large  shipments 
of  tea  to  the  various  colonial  ports.  But  the  un- 
yielding temper  of  the  Americans  was  not  so  to 
be  conciliated.  In  some  of  the  ports  they  per- 
mitted the  tea  to  be  landed  and  stored.  In 
others,  the  ships  were  compelled  to  return  to 
England  without  being  allowed  to  discharge  their 
cargoes.  At  Boston  the  vessels  were  boarded  by 
a  party  disguised  as  Indians,  and  the  tea  thrown 


250  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1775. 

overboard.  At  Annapolis,  the  people  assem- 
bled in  open  day,  and  compelled  the  owner  to 
set  fire  to  the  ship  containing  the  obnoxious 
article.  In  New  York,  the  tea-ship  was  ordered 
to  anchor  off  Sandy  Hook,  and  finally  forced  to 
return  home.  A  private  adventure  belonging 
to  the  captain  of  another  ship  was  treated  less 
ceremoniously ;  the  chests,  fourteen  in  number, 
were  seized  and  thrown  into  the  river. 

These  daring  proceedings  no  sooner  became 
known  to  the  ministry,  than  a  bill  was  passed 
shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston,  and  removing 
the  seat  of  government  to  Salem.  The  tidings 
speedily  reached  America.  Public  meetings 
were  called  at  various  points,  at  which  it  was 
recommended  that  delegates  from  the  several 
provinces  should  assemble  at  a  stated  time  and 
place,  and  take  upon  themselves  the  duties  of  a 
Continental  Congress.  These  recommendations 
met  with  an  almost  unanimous  response.  On  the 
1st  of  September,  1774,  delegates  from  twelve 
provinces  met  at  Philadelphia,  and  after  many 
long  and  grave  debates,  drew  up  a  declaration  of 
colonial  rights,  a  petition  to  the  king,  a  memo- 
rial to  the  inhabitants  of  British  America,  and 
an  address  to  the  people  of  Canada. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  first  serious  prelude  to 
the  Revolution  was  rapidly  approaching.  On  the 
19th  of  April,  1775,  and  while  the  congress  was 
still  in  session,  tidings  were  received  that  Gene- 


1775.]      BATTLE  OF  LEXINGTON.        251 

ral  Gage,  the  governor  of  Massachusetts,  having 
learned  that  a  quantity  of  military  stores  were 
deposited  at  Concord,  had  sent  out  a  strong  force 
from  Boston  to  seize  and  destroy  them.  At  Lex- 
ington this  detachment,  consisting  of  eight  hun- 
dred men,  fell  in  with  a  small  party  of  militia, 
which  were  fired  upon  and  routed,  with  the  loss 
of  eight  killed  and  several  wounded.  The  regu- 
lars then  marched  to  Concord,  and  destroyed 
such  stores  as  were  found  there.  The  alarm 
speedily  spreading,  numbers  of  minute  men  came 
pouring  into  the  village,  and  a  smart  skirmish 
ensued,  during  which  several  of  the  regulars  were 
killed.  Finding  themselves  hard  pressed,  the 
troops,  greatly  harassed  by  the  way,  retreated 
rapidly  to  Lexington.  At  the  latter  place  they 
were  reinforced  by  Lord  Percy,  who,  with  nine 
hundred  men,  and  two  pieces  of  cannon,  had 
been  sent  by  Gage  to  their  relief.  Falling  back 
in  good  order,  though  closely  pressed  by  the  ex- 
asperated provincials,  they  succeeded  in  reaching 
Charlestown  about  sunset  in  the  evening,  having 
lost  in  killed  and  wounded  two  hundred  and 
seventy-three  men.  The  loss  of  the  provincials 
amounted  to  eighty-eight.  The  exhausted  regu- 
lars, after  encamping  on  Bunker  Hill  for  the 
night,  crossed  over  to  Boston  the  following  day. 


252  HISTORY   OF   XEW   YORK.  [1775. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Effect  of  the  battle  of  Lexington — Doubtful  position  of  New 
York — Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  seized — Descent  of 
Arnold  upon  St.  John's — War  fonnally  declared — Acts  of  the 
Provincial  Congress — Opposition  of  the  loyalists — Washing- 
ton appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the  American  forces — 
Other  appointments — Battle  of  Bunker  Hill — Congress  de- 
termines upon  an  effectual  blockade  of  Boston — 'Washington 
assumes  the  chief  command — Return  of  Governor  Tryon  to 
New  York — State  of  political  parties — Seizure  of  military 
stores  at  Turtle  Bay — Removal  of  guns  from  the  Battery  at 
New  York — Unpopularity  of  Tryon — He  takes  refuge  on 
board  the  Asia  man-of-war — Invasion  of  Canada — Surrender 
of  Forts  Chambly  and  St.  Joh:i — Capitulation  of  Montreal 
— Montgomery  forms  a  junction  with  Arnold — Assault  of 
Quebec — Death  of  Montgomery — Evacuation  of  Canada — 
Disturbances  in  New  York  —  Ri%-ington's  Gazette — Lee 
ordered  to  assist  in  defending  the  city — Disaffection  of  the 
Johnsons — Joseph  Brant — Declaration  of  Independence. 

The  battle  of  Lexinglon  was  the  unsheathing 
of  the  sword.  War,  though  not  formally  pro- 
claimed, was  recognised  to  have  commenced  in 
earnest.  Within  twenty  days  expresses  had  car- 
ried tidings  of  the  affray  to  every  important  point 
in  all  the  colonies  between  Massachusetts  and 
South  Carolina.  Volunteers  soon  encompassed 
Boston  to  the  number  of  twenty  thousand  men. 
The  committee  of  correspondence  at  New  York, 
notwithstanding  the  Tory  predilections  of  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  inhabitants,  adopted  a 
plan  of  association  for  the  defence  of  colonial 


1775.]  TICONDEROGA   SEIZED.  253 

rights,  and  issued  an  address  to  the  county  com- 
mittees recommending  the  appointment  of  dele- 
gates to  a  provincial  congress.  These  measures 
were  not  carried  without  meeting  Avitli  consider- 
able opposition,  and  party  differences  at  length 
grew  to  such  a  height,  that  it  was  thought  expe- 
dient to  send  a  body  of  Connecticut  troops  to 
within  marching  distance  of  the  city,  in  order  to 
awe  the  loyalists  into  submission. 

On  the  10th  of  May,  the  fortress  of  Ticonde- 
roga  was  surprised  by  Ethan  Allen  at  the  head 
of  a  party  of  Green  Mountain  boys,  the  British 
commander  having  been  summoned  to  surrender 
"  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  and  the  Continental 
Congress."  In  this  expedition  Benedict  Arnold 
took  part  as  a  volunteer.  A  detachment  led  by 
Seth  Warner  took  undisputed  possession  of 
Crown  Point  the  same  day.  Two  hundred  pieces 
of  cannon,  together  with  a  large  amount  of  am- 
munition and  military  stores,  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Americans.  Being  joined  soon  after  by 
some  fifty  volunteers,  who  had  already  signahzed 
themselves  by  the  capture  of  Skenesborough,  and 
the  seizure  of  a  schooner  at  that  place,  Arnold 
descended  Lake  Champlain,  surprised  the  post  at 
St.  John's,  boarded  and  carried  an  armed  sloop, 
and  with  his  prizes,  laden  with  valuable  stores, 
returned  in  triumph  to  Crown  Point. 

On  the  26th  of  May,  Congress  formally  re- 
solved that  war  had  been  commenced,  although 

22 


254  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1775. 

the  idea  of  a  declaration  of  independence  was  not 
at  this  period  very  generally  entertained.  Four 
days  previous  to  this,  the  provincial  congress 
which  met  at  New  York  adopted  resolutions  for 
raising  four  regiments  of  militia,  and  for  erect- 
ing fortifications.  They  also  agreed  to  furnish 
supplies  to  the  Connecticut  regiment  under  Hin- 
man,  which  was  abeady  in  garrison  at  Ticonde- 
roga.  These  measures  were  not  carried  without 
embarrassment,  for  the  royalist  party  through- 
out the  province,  tenaciously  averse  to  severing 
all  connection  with  Great  Britain,  succeeded  in 
carrying,  in  spite  of  warm  opposition,  a  plan  for 
conciliation. 

On  the  15th  of  June,  the  Continental  Congress 
appointed  George  Washington  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  American  forces.  Ward  and  Put- 
nam, abeady  engaged  in  active  service  before 
Boston,  with  Schuyler  of  New  York,  and  Charles 
Lee,  lately  a  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  British 
service,  were  commissioned  as  major-generals. 
Horatio  Gates,  also  formerly  a  captain  in  the 
British  service,  was  chosen  adjutant-general,  with 
the  rank  of  brigadier.  Sullivan  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  Montgomery,  an  Irish  officer  who  had 
served  under  Wolfe  before  Louisburg  and  Que- 
bec, were,  with  Pomeroy,  Heath,  Wooster,  Spen- 
cer, and  Green,  appointed  brigadiers. 

While  many  of  the  preceding  nominations  were 
still  pending,  and  two  days  only  subsequent  to 


1775.]  STATE   OF    PARTIES.  255 

the  appointment  of  Colonel  Washington  as  com- 
mander-in-chief, occurred  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill. 

Stimulated  to  more  vigorous  action  by  tidings 
of  so  momentous  a  character,  Congress  imme- 
diately determined  upon  a  complete  investment 
of  Boston,  the  British  garrison  at  that  place 
having  been  lately  increased,  by  reinforcements 
under  Clinton,  Howe,  and  Burgoyne,  to  the 
number  of  ten  thousand  men.  Washington  at 
once  departed  to  assume  the  command,  and 
Avithin  two  weeks  took  up  his  head-quarters  at 
Cambridge. 

At  this  juncture.  Governor  Tryon,  who  had 
been  absent  on  a  visit  to  England,  returned  to 
New  York ;  and  so  nicely  balanced  were  the  two 
political  parties  by  which  the  province  was  agi- 
tated, that  public  opinion  would  preponderate 
one  day  in  favour  of  the  Whigs,  and  the  next 
would  aid  in  the  triumph  of  the  Tories ;  for  by 
these  names  the  patriots  and  the  loyalists  were 
now  beginning  to  be  known.  Even  in  the  pro- 
vincial congress,  the  Whig  majority  was  small 
and  fluctuating,  though  it  was  not  long  before  it 
acquired  both  strength  and  permanence.  The 
popularity  which  Tryon  had  previously  acquired 
with  a  certain  class  of  citizens  soon  began  to 
disappear  before  the  progressive  march  of 
events.  On  the  very  day  that  the  city  authori- 
ties welcomed  the  return  of  the  governor  by  a 


256  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1775. 

complimentary  address,  the  military  stores  de- 
posited at  Turtle  Bay  were  seized  and  carried 
off  by  tlie  provincials.  More  daring  acts  soon 
followed. 

On  the  night  of  the  22d  of  August,  Captain 
Sears,  assisted  by  a  body  of  resolute  men,  un- 
dertook, by  desire  of  the  provincial  congress, 
the  desperate  enterprise  of  removing  the  guns 
from  the  Battery,  in  the  face  of  the  Asia  man- 
of-war,  then  lying  in  the  harbour.  A  boat  which 
had  been  sent  out  from  the  latter  to  watch  the 
motions  of  the  patriots,  having  been  inadver- 
tently fired  upon  by  some  of  the  party  under 
Sears,  the  Asia  commenced  firing  with  grape- 
shot,  by  which  three  men  were  killed  and  seve- 
ral wounded.  Notwithstandino;  this  serious 
check.  Sears  determined  to  persevere.  Drawing, 
by  an  ingenious  stratagem,  the  fire  of  the  Asia 
upon  a  point  at  a  distance  from  his  working 
party,  he  finally  succeeded,  without  any  further 
loss,  in  carrying  off  twenty-one  pieces  of  artillery. 

During  this  exciting  period,  Tryon  was  exert- 
ing himself  to  sustain  the  people  of  Long  and 
Staten  Islands  in  their  refusal  to  sign  the  arti- 
cles of  association.  Other  acts  of  a  similar  cha- 
racter rendering  his  further  residence  in  the  city 
dangerous  to  his  personal  safety,  he  prudent- 
ly concluded  to  abandon  his  government,  and 
toward  the  close  of  September  took  refuge  on 
board  the  Asia. 


1775.]        CANADA  INVADED.  257 

In  tlie  mean  while,  Washington  was  engaged 
in  blockading  Boston.  The  Continental  Con- 
gress having  determined  to  invade  Canada,  two 
thousand  men  were  directed  to  he  raised  for  the 
expedition,  the  command  of  which  was  given  to 
Generals  Schuyler  and  Montgomery.  On  the 
4th  of  September  the  latter  descended  Lake 
Champlain,  and  having  formed  a  junction  with 
Schuyler  at  Isle  la  Motte,  the  flotilla,  contain- 
ing above  a  thousand  men,  moved  upon  St.  John's  ; 
but  finding  that  place  strongly  garrisoned  and 
fortified,  it  was  resolved  to  return  to  Isle  au 
Noix,  and  wait  for  artillery  and  reinforcements. 
The  latter  arriving  soon,  and  Schuyler  having 
returned  to  Albany,  Montgomery  again  press- 
ed forward  to  St.  John's.  While  besieging  it, 
Fort  Chambly,  lower  down  the  Sorel  River,  was 
taken  by  Majors  Brown  and  Livingston  ;  and  on 
the  3d  of  November  the  garrison  at  St.  John's, 
consisting  of  seven  hundred  men,  surrendered 
themselves  prisoners  of  war.  Montreal  capitu- 
lating soon  after,  Montgomery  pushed  his  ad- 
vantage, and  descended  the  St.  Lawrence  to 
Quebec.  Forming  a  junction  at  Point  au 
Trembles  with  Arnold,  who  had  been  despatched 
by  Washington  to  co-operate  with  Montgomery, 
the  united  forces,  thinned  by  discharges,  deser- 
tions, and  detachments  to  about  one  thousand 
men,  descended  the  river,  and  on  the  5th  of  De- 
cember appeared  before  Quebec.  Desperate  as 
22* 


258  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1775. 

the  attempt  to  carry  the  place  by  assault  ap- 
peared, it  was  resolved  upon.  The  army  wa3 
divided  into  four  corps,  two  of  which  were  to 
make  feigned  attacks  upon  the  upper  town,  while 
Montgomery  and  Arnold,  from  opposite  sides, 
assaulted  the  lower. 

On  the  morning  of  the  31st  of  December, 
1775,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  driving  snow-storm, 
the  columns  advanced.  Montgomery,  at  the 
head  of  the  New  York  troops,  marched  by  the 
bank  of  the  river  until  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  first  battery  on  the  south  side  of  the  town. 
As  he  approached,  the  enemy  at  first  fled  panic- 
stricken  ;  but  taking  courage  at  witnessing  the 
obstacles  which  the  heavy  masses  of  snow  inter- 
posed to  the  progress  of  the  assailants,  a  single 
artilleryman  returned  to  his  post,  and  fired  a 
cannon  charged  with  grape-shot  when  the  Ame- 
ricans were  within  forty  paces.  Montgomery 
and  his  aids,  Captains  Cheeseman  and  Macpher- 
son,  were  instantly  killed.  Discouraged  by  their 
loss,  the  division  precipitately  fell  back,  and 
made  no  further  attempt  to  enter  the  town  on 
that  side.  On  the  north,  however,  Arnold  pressed 
forward  by  way  of  St.  Roques,  his  advance  being 
closely  supported  by  a  body  of  riflemen  under 
Captain  Daniel  Morgan ;  but  the  obstructions 
occasioned  by  the  great  depth  of  the  snow  gave 
the  enemy  an  advantage  of  which  they  were 
prompt  to  seize.     Arnold  fell,  with  his  leg  shat- 


1776.]        CANADA  EVACUATED.         259 

tered  by  a  musket  ball ;  but  the  battery  by  which 
the  barrier  was  defended  was  impetuously  carried 
by  Morgan  at  the  head  of  his  riflemen.  The  dawn 
of  day  too  plainly  discovered  that  the  force  by 
which  he  was  sustained  was  wholly  inefficient  to 
maintain  his  conquest.  A  gallant  attempt  upon 
a  second  barrier  resulted  in  complete  discom- 
fiture. Frozen  with  cold,  many  of  their  arms 
rendered  useless  by  the  snow,  surrounded  by  the 
enemy  in  constantly  increasing  numbers,  and 
all  the  avenues  of  retreat  cut  off,  Morgan  and 
his  brave  followers  at  length  reluctantly  con- 
sented to  surrender. 

Drawing  around  him  the  remainder  of  his 
troops,  Arnold  retired  three  miles  up  the  river. 
Sheltering  his  men  for  the  winter  behind  breast- 
works of  frozen  snow,  he  kept  Quebec  in  a  state 
of  blockade.  On  the  1st  of  May,  1776,  rein- 
forcements, under  General  Thomas,  increased 
the  invading  army  to  nine  hundred  men ;  but 
one-half  of  these  being  rendered  ineffective  by 
the  prevalence  of  the  small-pox,  and  the  British 
garrison  having,  in  the  mean  time,  been  strength- 
ened by  the  arrival  of  additional  troops,  it  was 
found  advisable  to  evacuate  Canada,  a  movement 
which,  after  a  series  of  disasters,  was  finally  ac- 
complished on  the  17th  of  June. 

In  the  midst  of  these  northern  operations,  the 
city  of  New  York  was  thrown  into  a  state  of  tu- 
mult in  consequence  of  the  obnoxious  course  of 


260  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1776. 

the  editor  of  Rivington's  Gazette,  a  paper  sup- 
ported by  the  influence  of  the  Tory  population, 
and  by  the  patronage  of  Tryon,  -who,  from  on 
board  the  Asia,  still  kept  up  a  constant  communi- 
cation with  his  adherents  on  shore.  The  publisher 
having  been  warned,  without  effect,  to  moderate 
the  heat  of  his  partisan  zeal.  Captain  Sears,  at 
the  instigation  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  fearing  to 
trust  the  local  militia,  mustered  in  Connecticut  a 
party  of  light-horse,  and  entering  New  York  in 
open  day  on  the  25th  of  November,  broke  into 
Rivington's  office,  demolished  his  press,  and  car- 
ried off  the  types. 

The  intrigues  of  Governor  Tryon,  and  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  loyalists,  rendering  the  fidelity  of 
New  York  to  the  patriot  cause  a  matter  of  con- 
siderable doubt,  Washington  ordered  Lee  to  take 
command  of  a  body  of  Connecticut  volunteers  to 
assist  in  the  defence  of  the  city,  and  to  aid  in  re- 
straining the  factious  spirit  of  those  who  still 
obstinately  supported  the  pretensions  of  Great 
Britain. 

These  adherents  were,  however,  too  numerous, 
both  within  the  city  and  throughout  the  province, 
to  suffer  more  than  a  temporary  check.  Sir  John 
Johnson,  son  to  the  conqueror  of  Dieskau,  and 
Guy  Johnson,  the  Indian  agent,  both  living  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Mohawk,  had  contrived  to 
keep  the  Highlanders,  who  were  settled  around 
them,  for  the  most  part  favoui-able  to  the  royal 


1776.]  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE.    261 

cause,  until  Schuyler,  in  command  on  the  fron- 
tier, sent  a  detachment  to  disarm  them,  and  took 
hostages  to  insure  their  future  submission.  Guy 
Johnson  fled  into  Canada,  whither  Sir  John  soon 
followed  him.  The  latter,  accepting  a  commis- 
sion as  colonel  in  the  British  service,  succeeded 
in  raising  from  among  his  tenants  and  elsewhere 
two  battalions  of  "Royal  Greens."  Joseph 
Brant,  the  half-breed,  served  under  Guy  John- 
son for  a  brief  season  as  his  secretary,  but  sub- 
sequently engaged  in  those  more  active  and  ter- 
rible operations  which  have  rendered  his  name 
so  painfully  celebrated. 

Though  the  British  troops  in  garrison  at  Bos- 
ton still  remained  in  a  state  of  blockade,  the 
Tory  population  of  the  provinces  was  far  from 
inactive.  Several  skirmishes  of  a  serious  cha- 
racter had  taken  place ;  and  as  the  British 
ministry  evinced  a  disposition  to  crush  all  op- 
position by  force  of  arms,  the  period  for  recon- 
ciliation was  generally  acknowledged  to  have 
passed  away.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  the 
Continental  Congress,  assembled  at  Philadel- 
phia, resolved  upon  a  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. On  this  occasion  the  delegates  from  New 
York  declined  to  vote ;  but  the  provincial  con- 
gress, which  assembled  at  White  Plains  on  the 
9th  of  the  same  month,  sanctioned  the  declara- 
tion, and  ordered  it  to  be  engrossed  and  signed. 

In  the  city  of  New  York  the  proclamation  of 


262  HISTORY   01'   NEW   YORK,  [1776. 

independence  was  received  by  the  patriots  with 
the  liveliest  demonstrations  Of  satisfaction.  Not 
content  with  testifying  their  joy  by  shouts  and 
acclamations,  they  destroyed  a  picture  of  the 
king  which  hung  in  the  City  Hall.  Proceeding 
thence  to  the  Bowling-green,  they  threw  down 
his  equestrian  statue,  and  subsequently  con- 
verted the  lead  of  which  it  was  composed  into 
bullets  for  the  use  of  the  continental  army. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Evacuation  of  Boston — ^Washingto.i  at  New  York — His  em- 
barrassments— Discovery  of  a  plot  to  seize  his  person — Ap- 
proach of  General  Howe — The  British  encamp  on  Staten 
Island — Arrival  of  Admiral  Lord  Howe  with  reinforcements 
— American  defences  at  Brooklyn — Landing  of  the  British 
on  Long  Island — Battle  of  Long  Island,  and  defeat  of  Put- 
nam— Washington  encamps  at  Harlem — Howe  takes  pos- 
session of  York  Island — Disgraceful  flight  of  the  American 
militia — New  York  evacuated — Skirmish  at  Harlem — Seri- 
ous conflagration  in  the  city — Military  and  naval  operations 
of  tlic  British — The  Americans  encamp  at  M'hite  Plains — 
Defeat  of  McDougal — Capture  of  Fort  Washington — Aban- 
donment of  Fort  Lee — Retreat  of  Washington  through  the 
Jerseys — Crosses  the  Delaware  at  Trenton— Situation  of  the 
Northern  army — Crown  Point  evacuated — Advance  of 
Carleton — Battle  on  Lake  Champlain. 

Ox  the  27th  of  March,  1776,  General  Howe, 
with  seven  thousand  British  troops,  evacuated 
Boston,  and  retired  to  Halifax.  Confidently  ex- 
pecting that  the  next  movement  of  the  British 
general  would  be  directed  upon  New  York,  Wash- 


1776.]       APPROACH    OF    GENERAL    HOWE.  263 

ington  hastened  to  the  latter  city  with  the  main 
body  of  his  army,  leaving  five  regiments  under 
General  Ward  to  garrison  Boston.  The  earliest 
attention  of  the  commander-in-chief  was  directed 
toward  putting  the  city  of  New  York  in  as  good 
a  condition  of  defence  as  his  limited  means  would 
admit ;  but  he  soon  found  his  operations  greatly 
embarrassed  by  the  activity  of  the  loyalists, 
whom  no  prohibition  could  restrain  from  keep- 
ing up  a  correspondence  with  the  enemy.  Even 
the  mayor  of  the  city  proved  faithless  to  the 
cause  of  liberty.  A  plot  was  also  discovered 
for  seizing  the  person  of  Washington,  and  con- 
veying him  a  prisoner  on  board  one  of  the  Bri- 
tish ships.  The  principal  conspirator  was  tried 
by  court-martial,  and  ordered  to  be  shot. 

Having  conceived  the  design  of  separating  the 
northern  from  the  southern  states  by  the  occu- 
pation of  New  York,  General  Howe,  reinforced 
by  the  troops  previously  stationed  at  Halifax, 
set  sail  from  that  port,  and  on  the  28th  of  June 
landed  on  Staten  Island.  In  the  early  part  of 
July  he  was  joined  by  his  brother.  Admiral  Lord 
Howe,  with  a  fleet  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  sail, 
and  twenty  thousand  additional  troops.  This 
overwhelming  force  was  not  without  its  effect, 
especially  upon  the  people  of  Long  Island,  many 
of  whom  were  already  favourable  to  the  royal 
cause.  A  considerable  number  of  inhabitants 
immediately  took  the  oaths  of  allegiance,  while 


264  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1776. 

a  portion  of  them  organized  tliemselves  into  a 
militia  corps,  the  command  of  T\-hich  was  ac- 
cepted bj  Tryon. 

In  anticipation  of  this  emergency,  Congress 
had  already  called  upon  the  middle  and  northern 
states  for  reinforcements  to  the  number  of  twen- 
ty-four thousand  men.  But  it  was  the  middle  of 
August  before  the  entire  force  under  Washing- 
ton's immediate  command  reached  twenty  thou- 
sand men,  more  than  one-third  of  Avhom  were 
raw  levies,  for  the  most  part  badly  equipped  and 
worse  disciplined.  To  oppose  these,  the  camp 
of  General  Howe  on  Staten  Island  contained 
twenty-four  thousand  British  troops  and  German 
mercenaries,  perfect  in  their  drill  and  admirably 
appointed. 

Having  been  commissioned  to  offer  a  free  par- 
don to  all  persons  who,  within  a  specified  time, 
would  come  forward  and  take  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  Great  Britain,  General  Howe,  in  con- 
nection with  the  admiral  his  brother,  delayed  the 
prosecution  of  further  hostilities  until  the  effect 
of  the  proclamation  should  be  ascertained. 
Finding  the  patriots  firmly  resolved  to  maintain 
the  principles  they  had  espoused,  active  opera- 
tions were  determined  on. 

To  check  the  approach  of  Howe  upon  the  city 
by  way  of  Long  Island,,  the  Americans  had 
thrown  up  intrenchments  at  Brooklyn,  a  point  of 
land  opposite  New  York,  but  separated  from  it 


1776.]  LANDING    ON   LONG    ISLANTD.  265 

by  what  is  known  as  the  East  River,  an  arm  of 
the  sea  three-fourths  of  a  mile  wide.  Behind 
these  intrenchments  nine  thousand  men  were 
encamped.  The  command  of  this  strong  de- 
tachment had  been  intrusted  to  General  Greene, 
under  whose  directions  the  works  had  been  con 
structed,  and  to  whom  the  approaches  were  fami- 
liar ;  but  the  latter  being  taken  seriously  ill,  his 
command  was  transferred  to  General  Putnam, 
who,  though  an  able  and  energetic  officer,  was 
but  little  acquainted  with  the  topography  of  the 
surrounding  country. 

On  the  morning  of  the  22d  of  August,  General 
Howe  embarked  fifteen  thousand  troops,  in  sepa- 
rate divisions,  on  board  of  galleys  and  flat-boats 
previously  prepared  for  that  service.  Quitting 
his  camp  at  Staten  Island,  he  succeeded  in  land- 
ing, without  opposition,  on  the  beach  near  Utrecht, 
in  King's  county.  Long  Island,  and  about  eight 
miles  south  of  the  city  of  New  York.  On  the 
25th  his  force  was  still  further  augmented  by  the 
addition  of  two  brigades  of  Hessians  under  Gene- 
ral De  Heister.  Between  the  American  works 
at  Brooklyn  and  the  British  position  at  Flatbush 
extended  a  long  range  of  thickly-wooded  hills, 
pierced  by  several  passes ;  and  upon  the  degree 
of  vigilance  with  which  these  passes  were  guard- 
ed mainly  depended  the  security  of  the  American 
camp. 

Having  at  length  arranged  his  plan  of  opera- 

23 


266  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1776. 

tions,  the  British  general  ordered  De  Heister,  on 
the  night  of  the  26th,  to  take  the  road  -nhich  led 
from  Flatbush  across  the  hills  in  front  of  the 
lines'  at  Brooklyn ;  while  a  similar  column,  under 
Grant,  marched  round  the  western  base  of  the 
hills  by  the  river  road,  and  approached  the  Ame- 
ricans on  their  right.  The  object  of  these  move- 
ments was  to  draw  the  attention  of  Putnam  from 
the  advance  of  the  main  body  of  the  British 
under  Clinton,  which,  at  the  same  time,  was 
skirting  the  foot  of  the  hills  by  an  easterly 
route,  with  a  view  of  turning  the  American  left. 
Falling  into  the  snare  thus  artfully  laid,  Putnam 
threw  forward  a  strong  corps  under  Sterling  to 
guard  the  river  road,  while  Sullivan  hastened  to 
dispute  the  passage  of  De  Heister  over  the  hills. 
The  approach  of  Clinton  with  the  main  body  was 
thus  effectually  masked  by  the  movements  of  the 
other  columns ;  and  it  was  not  until  Sullivan 
found  himself  exposed  to  a  galling  foe  in  front 
and  rear,  that  the  stratagem  of  the  British  com- 
mander was  detected.  After  several  ineffectual 
attempts  to  force  their  way  t-lu'ough  the  masses 
of  the  enemy,  the  troops  under  Sullivan  broke 
into  detached  parties,  and  took  refuge  among 
the  hills  ;  but  the  greater  portion  of  them,  toge- 
ther with  Sullivan  himself,  were  eventually  taken 
prisoners. 

The  progress  of  Grant  by  the  river  road  met 
with  far  more  vigorous  opposition  from  Sterling. 


1776.]         gaIlantry  of  sterling.  267 

Strengthened  about  daybreak  by  his  advanced 
guard,  which  the  British  had  driven  in,  Sterling 
posted  his  troops  along  the  summit  of  the  hills, 
and,  as  the  enemy  approached,  commenced  a 
severe  cannonade,  which  was  continued  on  both 
sides  for  several  hours.  Although  repeatedly 
attacked  by  the  brigades  under  Cornwallis  and 
Grant,  the  Americans  at  this  point  gallantly 
held  their  ground  until  De  Heister  had  routed 
Sullivan,  and  their  rear  was  threatened  by  Clin- 
ton. His  position  becoming  momentarily  more 
dangerous,  Sterling  at  length  reluctantly  ordered 
a  retreat.  Closely  pressed  by  the  enemy  in  front, 
and  having  in  his  rear  a  marsh  intersected  by  a 
deep  creek,  this  movement  was  rendered  ex- 
tremely perilous,  from  the  bridge  which  spanned 
the  latter  having  been  burned  in  a  panic  by  a 
brigade  from  New  England.  The  choice  of  two 
courses  alone  remained.  One  was,  to  surrender 
to  the  enemy ;  the  other,  to  risk  an  escape  by 
attempting  to  cross  the  creek  and  marsh,  which 
were  eighty  yards  in  width  and  of  unknown 
depth.  Sterling  gallantly  resolved  upon  the 
latter.  Selecting  four  hundred  men  from  the 
Maryland  battalion  to  cover  the  retreat  of  the 
rest,  he  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  this  small 
force,  and  in  full  sight  from  the  American  lines 
charged,  with  fixed  bayonets,  the  brigade  com- 
manded by  Cornwallis.  Washington,  who  had 
hastened  across  the  river  from  New  York,  was  a 


268  HISTOET   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1776. 

"witness  to  this  display  of  heroic  hravery.  Wring- 
ing his  hands  in  anguish,  he  bitterly  deplored 
the  fate  of  men  who  were  so  nobly  sacrificing 
themselves  to  the  safety  of  their  companions. 
,  Four  times  the  desperate  charge  was  repeated. 
On  the  fifth,  the  British  began  to  show  signs  of 
disorder ;  but  at  this  junctm-e  De  Heister  with 
his  Hessians  commenced  an  assault  in  the  rear. 
Reduced  in  numbers  and  weakened  by  their  ex- 
ertions, a  portion  of  the  detachment,  following 
the  example  of  Sterling,  surrendered  themselves 
prisoners  of  war.  The  remaining  three  compa- 
nies, having  resolutely  determined  not  to  yield, 
cut  their  way  through  the  ranks  of  the  enemy, 
and  endeavoured  to  cross  the  creek.  A  few  of 
them  were  successful  in  making  good  their  es- 
cape, but  the  greater  part  perished  in  the 
attempt. 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  in  this  disastrous 
battle  has  been  variously  estimated.  Their 
killed  and  wounded  could  not  have  fallen  short 
of  four  hundred.  The  British  commander  ac- 
knowledged, on  his  part,  to  a  loss  of  three  hun- 
dred ;  but  upward  of  a  thousand  American  pri- 
soners remained  in  his  hands. 

The  victorious  forces,  cautiously  advancing, 
encamped  in  front  of  the  American  lines,  and 
made  preparations  for  investing  them  in  form. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  troops  within  the  intrench- 
ments  had  been  reinforced  from  New  York ;  but 


1776.]  DEATH    OF    GEN.  WOODHULL.  269 

Washington,  after  holding  a  council  of  war  with 
his  officers,  determined  upon  withdrawing  them 
from  a  situation  so  precarious.  A  retreat  across 
the  river,  conducted  with  great  silence  and  se- 
crecy, was  accordingly  eifected  on  the  night  of 
August  the  29th,  in  the  midst  of  a  thick  fog, 
and  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man.  The  cap- 
ture of  General  Woodhull,  late  president  of  the 
provincial  congress,  which  occurred  the  day  after 
the  battle,  was  another  severe  blow  to  the  Ame- 
rican cause.  He  died  soon  afterward,  from  the 
gross  neglect  of  his  captors  to  dress  the  wounds 
they  had  inflicted  upon  him  subsequent  to  his 
surrender. 

The  victory  on  Long  Island  exposing  New 
York  to  an  attack  from  the  enemy,  Washington, 
leaving  a  strong  force  in  the  city,  retired  with 
the  main  body  to  the  heights  of  Harlem,  making, 
at  the  same  time,  the  necessary  arrangements  for 
facilitating  his  further  retreat. 

The  British  military  and  naval  commanders, 
entertaining  a  hope  that  the  recent  victory  would 
produce  an  effect  upon  Congress  favourable  to 
their  wishes,  again  sought  to  open  negotiations 
for  an  amicable  adjustment  of  the  dispute  be- 
tween the  confederated  states  and  the  mother 
country;  but  Congress  firmly  refused  to  listen 
to  any  proposals  of  peace  which  did  not  recog- 
nise the  colonies  as  independent  states. 

An  assault  upon  New  York  was  immediately 

23* 


270  HISTORY   OP   ISTEW   YORK.  [1776. 

determined  upon.  Supported  by  the  ships  of 
the  fleet,  which  had  forced  a  passage  up  the 
Hudson  and  East  rivers,  Howe  landed  on  York 
Island,  about  three  miles  aboYe  the  city.  The 
guard  stationed  there  to  oppose  his  debarkation 
fled  without  firing  a  gun ;  and  two  brigades  of 
Connecticut  militia  sent  to  their  support,  being 
seized  with  a  similar  panic,  disgracefully  fol- 
lowed their  example.  Washington,  with  Putnam 
and  Mifflin,  vainly  endeavoured  to  put  a  stop  to 
this  shameful  flight.  "  Are  these  the  men  with 
whom  I  am  to  defend  America?"  exclaimed 
Washington.  Indignantly  dashing  his  hat  upon 
the  ground,  he  suffered  his  attendants  to  hurry 
him  from  the  field.  Orders  were  at  once  sent  to 
the  troops  yet  remaining  in  the  city  to  evacuate 
it  without  delay.  Under  cover  of  Smallwood's 
Maryland  regiment,  almost  the  only  one  upon 
which  any  great  reliance  could  be  placed,  the 
retreat,  though  rapid  and  disorderly,  was  at 
length  effected ;  but  not  before  three  hundred 
men  had  been  left  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
Having  thus  easily  obtained  almost  undisputed 
possession  of  the  island,  Howe  directed  a  strong 
detachment  to  take  possession  of  the  city,  and 
with  the  remainder  of  his  forces  encamped  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  American  lines. 

The  next  day  a  skirmish  took  place,  which 
revived  to  a  considerable  degree  the  drooping 
courage  of  the  continental  troops.     A  body  of 


1776.]  CALAMITOUS    FIRE.  271 

the  enemy,  three  hundred  strong,  appearing  in 
the  plains  between  the  two  camps,  Washington 
directed  Colonel  Knowlton,  with  a  corps  of  New 
England  rangers,  and  Major  Leitch,  with  three 
companies  of  an  untried  Virginia  regiment,  to 
get  into  their  rear,  while  he  engaged  the  atten- 
tion of  the  enemy  by  making  preparations  to 
assault  them  in  front.  The  stratagem  was  suc- 
cessful ;  and  although  Colonel  Knowlton  was 
shot  dead  early  in  the  action,  and  Major  Leitch 
received  a  mortal  wound,  the  companies  main- 
tained their  ground.  The  British  receiving  a 
reinforcement  of  seven  hundred  men ;  two  regi- 
ments of  the  Maryland  flying  camp  and  three 
independent  companies  from  the  same  State  were 
ordered  to  the  support  of  the  American  skir- 
mishers. Boldly  attacking  the  enemy  with  the 
bayonet,  they  succeeded  in  putting  them  to 
flight,  and  were  in  hot  pursuit,  when  Washing- 
ton, having  made*  the  impression  he  desired,  or- 
dered them  to  be  recalled.  In  this  spirited  affair 
the  Americans  lost,  in  killed  and  wounded,  about 
fifty  men ;  the  British  loss  exceeded  double  that 
number. 

On  the  night  of  the  20th  of  September,  five 
days  after  the  enemy  had  taken  possession  of 
New  York  amid  the  acclamations  of  their  nume- 
rous partisans,  a  fire  broke  out  in  the  city,  by 
which  Trinity  Church  and  nearly  one  thousand 
houses  were  laid  in  ruins.     The  orio-in  of  the 


272  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1776. 

disaster  was  at  first  charged  upon  the  <'  Sons  of 
Liberty,"  some  of  whom,  in  the  passionate  frenzy 
of  the  moment,  were  seized  and  thrust  into  the 
flames.  Subsequent  reflection  has,  however,  led 
to  the  belief  that  the  fire  was  purely  accidental. 
The  American  lines  on  Harlem  Heights  being 
found  too  strong  to  be  forced  by  assault,  the  two 
armies  lay  inactive  for  three  weeks  within  sight 
of  each  other ;  but  Admiral  Howe  having  a  se- 
cond time  succeeded  in  forcing  the  obstructions 
to  his  progress  in  the  Hudson  and  East  rivers, 
the  British  troops  broke  up  their  encampment, 
and  embarking  on  board  of  flat-boats,  sloops, 
and  schooners,  landed  on  the  12th  of  October 
at  Frogs'  Point,  about  nine  miles  above  Harlem. 
These  military  and  naval  movements  having  the 
efiect  of  cutting  ofl"  the  American  supplies  by 
way  of  the  river,  Washington  resolved  to  aban- 
don York  Island,  leaving  behind  him  in  garrison 
at  Fort  Washington  two  thousand  men  under 
Colonel  Magaw.  The  main  body  of  the  Ameri- 
rican  army  fell  back  to  Kingsbridge,  where  a 
part  of  the  forces  were  left  to  thi-ow  up  intrench- 
ments,  in  order  to  protect  the  baggage  and 
stores,  and  to  retard  the  advance  of  the  enemy. 
With  the  advanced  division  Washington  pro- 
ceeded to  White  Plains.  Toward  the  end  of 
October,  the  whole  army  was  concentrated  at 
this  point,  occupying  a  position  well  chosen  for 
defence,  and  strongly  fortified.     Howe  followed 


1776.]   CAPTUKE  OF  FORT  WASHINGTON.    273 

up  closely  the  retreating  army.  On  the  27th 
of  October  he  attacked  McDougal,  who  was  in 
command  of  a  strong  detachment  on  the  right 
of  the  American  camp.  The  militia,  making 
but  a  feeble  resistance,  were  soon  put  to  flight, 
with  a  loss,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  of 
nearly  four  hundred  men.  After  this  success  of 
the  enemy,  Washington  expected  an  immediate 
assault  upon  his  lines ;  but,  for  reasons  which 
have  never  been  divulged,  Plowe  paused  in  his 
advance  until  he  should  receive  a  reinforcement 
of  six  additional  battalions.  His  delay  was  im- 
proved by  Washington  in  removing  to  a  stronger 
position  two  miles  in  his  rear  ;  and  Howe,  hesi- 
tating to  risk  a  battle  at  this  period,  moved 
down  the  river  with  his  forces  to  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Kingsbridge.  Here  he  made  his  dispo- 
sitions for  an  attack  on  Fort  Washington. 

The  necessary  boats  having  been  procured,  the 
assault  was  made  in  four  divisions  on  the  morning 
of  the  16th  of  November.  The  defence  was  main- 
tained for  several  hours  with  great  vigour  and 
resolution ;  but  the  outworks  being  at  length 
forced,  the  men  were  driven  back  into  the  fort. 
Finding  themselves  thus  closely  invested  by  a 
vastly  superior  force,  the  garrison  soon  after  con- 
sented to  terms  of  capitulation,  by  which  nearly 
three  thousand  men — including  the  reinforce- 
ments  sent  over  by  Greene  from  Fort  Lee — sur- 
rendered themselves  prisoners  of  war. 


274  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1776. 

The  unexpectedness  of  this  severe  blow  led  to 
the  hasty  abandonment  of  Fort  Lee,  with  all  its 
artillery,  ammunition,  and  stores.  The  next 
movements  of  the  enemy  indicating  an  intention 
to  occupy  New  Jersey,  and  from  thence  push  on 
to  Philadelphia,  Washington  crossed  the  Passaic 
with  five  thousand  men,  leaving  Lee,  with  dis- 
cretionary powers,  in  command  of  nearly  an 
equal  number  at  White  Plains.  Another  divi- 
sion, under  General  Heath,  was  stationed  on 
both  sides  of  the  Hudson  to  defend  the  passes 
of  the  Highlands.  Retiring  slowly  before  his 
victorious  enemy,  Washington  commenced  his 
celebrated  retreat  through  the  Jerseys.  With 
daily  diminishing  numbers,  he  crossed  the  Rari- 
tan  to  Brunswick,  which  he  entered,  on  the  28th 
of  November,  with  less  than  four  thousand  men. 
Marching  from,  thence,  but  without  loss,  though 
closely  pursued  by  the  British  advance  under 
Cornwallis,  he  proceeded  to  Trenton,  where  he 
crossed  the  Delaware  in  the  early  part  of  De- 
cember, and  took  ujj  a  position  on  the  western 
bank  of  that  river. 

While  the  forces  under  Washino;ton  were  being 
beaten  at  all  points  upon  the  southern  border  of 
New  York,  the  northern  army  under  Gates  was 
scarcely  in  a  less  precarious  condition.  L^pon 
the  approach  of  Carleton  from  Canada,  who  fol- 
lowed rapidly  the  retrogression  of  the  invading 
army,  Crown  Point  was  abandoned  as  untenable. 


4776.]        BATTLE    ON    LAKE    CHAMPLAIN.  275 

the  attention  of  Gates  being  wholly  directed  to 
strengthening  the  fortress  at  Ticonderoga.  The 
Americans  having  captured  or  destroyed  in  their 
retreat  all  the  vessels  upon  Lake  Champlain, 
Carleton  was  compelled  to  halt  his  army  at  the 
foot  of  the  lake,  until  the  necessary  water  craft 
could  be  obtained.  Toward  the  close  of  summer 
he  succeeded  in  getting  together  five  vessels  of  a 
larger  size  than  any  composing  the  fleet  of  Ar- 
nold, besides  twenty  smaller  craft,  and  a  num- 
ber of  armed  boats.  When  he  had  manned  this 
formidO)ble  flotilla  with  seven  hundred  seamen 
from  the  ships  in  the  St.  Lawrence,  he  set  out  in 
search  of  the  American  fleet.  In  the  engage- 
ment which  followed,  on  the  6th  and  7th  of  Oc- 
tober, Arnold  lost  eleven  of  his  ships,  and  ninety 
men ;  the  remainder,  with  great  difficulty,  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  shelter  beneath  the  guns  of 
Ticonderoga.  Having,  by  this  victory,  gained 
command  of  the  lake,  Carleton  took  possession 
of  Crown  Point,  from  whence,  on  being  joined 
by  his  army,  he  threw  out  his  advanced  parties 
as  far  as  Ticonderoga.  Gates,  however,  in  the 
meanwhile,  had  received  large  reinforcements  of 
militia ;  and  Carleton,  fearing  to  risk  an  assault 
upon  a  fortress  garrisoned  by  eight  thousand 
men,  withdrew  his  forces  from  the  lake  on  the 
approach  of  winter,  and  retm-ned  to  Canada. 


276  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1777. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

New  York  Congress — State  government  established — Cam- 
paign of  1777 — Howe's  movements — Battle  of  Brandj^wine 
— Of  Germantown — Burgoyne's  invasion — His  successful 
advance — 'Takes  possession  of  Ticonderoga — Retreat  of  St. 
Clair — Evacuation  of  Skenesborough — Of  Fort  Anne — 
Weakness  of  the  northern  army  under  Schuyler — Fort 
Edward  abandoned — Schuyler  crosses  the  Hudson — Ad- 
vance of  Burgoyne — Fort  Schuyler  besieged  by  St.  Leger — • 
Bloody  skirmish  with  Herkimer — Death  of  Herkimer — Ar- 
nold advances  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Schuyler — Success  of  his 
stratagem — St.  Leger  deserted  by  the  Indians — Breaks  up 
the  siege — Battle  of  Bennington — Defeat  of  Baum  and  Brey- 
man — Schuyler  superseded  by  Gates — Condition  of  Burgoyne 
— Crosses  the  Hudson — First  battle  of  Behmus's  Heights — 
Second  battle  of  Behmus's  Heights — Retreat  of  Burgoyne  to 
Saratoga — Provisions  captured  on  the  Hudson — British 
council  of  war — Surrender  of  Burgoyne. 

During  the  "whole  of  the  disastrous  campaign 
of  1776,  the  provincial  congress  of  New  York 
had  exerted  themselves,  Avith  considerable  suc- 
cess, to  repress  the  spirit  of  the  Torj  popula- 
tion ;  and  by  judicious  but  energetic  measures 
prevented  them  from  taking  up  arms  and  openly 
joining  the  British  standard. 

The  establishment  of  a  state  government  hav- 
ing become  necessary,  a  convention  of  delegates 
assembled  at  Kingston  on  the  20th  of  April, 
1777,  and  adopted  "the  first  American  constitu- 
tion that  gave  the  choice  of  governor  to  the 


1777.]  BATTLE   OF   GERMANTOWN.  277 

people."  On  the  3d  of  July  following,  Briga- 
dier-General George  Clinton  was  elected  to  fill 
that  important  office. 

The  early  part  of  1777  was  wasted  by  Howe 
in  dilatory  movements,  having  for  their  object 
the  capture  of  Philadelphia.  Putting  at  length 
his  forces  in  motion,  he  sailed  down  the  Dela- 
ware, and  entering  the  Chesapeake,  landed  at 
the  head  of  Elk.  From  thence  he  commenced 
his  march  upon  the  capital  of  Pennsylvania. 
Routing  the  American  forces  posted  to  intercept 
him  on  the  banks  of  the  Brandywine,  he  followed 
up  the  retreating  troops ;  and  after  surprising 
Wayne  in  a  night  attack  near  Paoli,  entered  the 
city  of  Philadelphia  on  the  25th  of  September. 
The  main  body  of  the  enemy  being  encamped  at 
Germantown,  Washington  withdrew  his  forces  to 
Skippack  Creek,  about  fourteen  miles  distant. 
Having  soon  after  ascertained  that  the  British 
army  had  been  weakened  by  detachments,  Vf  ash- 
ington  determined  to  seize  the  opportunity  of 
attacking  the  camp  at  Germantown.  Marching 
by  four  different  routes,  on  the  night  of  the  3d 
of  October,  he  succeeded  at  first  in  gaining  an 
advantage  over  the  enemy ;  but  reinforcements 
arriving,  and  a  thick  fog  coming  on,  the  Ameri- 
cans Avere  eventually  obliged  to  retreat,  with  a 
loss,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  of  over 
one  thousand  men. 

But  it  was  not  so  much  upon  the  military 

24 


278  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1777. 

operations  on  the  Schuylkill  or  the  Delaware, 
that  the  hopes  of  the  British  ministry  rested  for 
success  in  the  campaign  of  1777,  as  upon  an  in- 
vasion from  Canada  by  General  Burgoyne.  The 
plan  arranged  by  that  active  officer  was,  to 
march  'with  a  strong  force  by  way  of  Lake 
Champlain,  and,  after  capturing  the  frontier 
fortresses  in  the  hands  of  the  Americans,  ad- 
vance to  Albany.  From  the  latter  point,  he  ex- 
pected to  be  able  to  obtain  possession  of  the 
strong  passes  in  the  Highlands  of  the  Hudson, 
by  the  co-operation  of  the  British  troops  in  New 
York ;  five  thousand  men,  under  the  command 
of  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  being  stationed  in  and 
around  that  city.  By  this  complete  possession 
of  New  York,  the  New  England  states  would 
have  been  efi'ectually  cut  off  from  all  the  pro- 
vinces south  of  the  Hudson  River. 

The  march  of  Burgoyne  was  at  first  one  series 
of  triumphs.  With  an  army  of  eight  thousand 
British  troops,  and  a  motley  array  of  boatmen 
and  irregulars,  he  proceeded  to  Lake  Champlain, 
where,  after  holding  a  council  with  the  Six  Na- 
tions, he  was  joined  by  four  hundred  of  their 
warriors.  As  soon  as  he  had  received  this  ac- 
cession to  his  force,  he  proceeded  to  Ticonde- 
roga,  before  which  he  appeared  on  the  1st  of 
July.  Seizing  a  steep  hill  which  overlooked  the 
fort,  he  planted  his  artillery  upon  its  summit,  and 
made  his  preparations  for  an  immediate  attack. 


1777.]  RETREAT    OP   ST.  CLAIR.  279 

St.  Clair,  the  American  commander,  having  un- 
der him  in  garrison  only  three  thousand  men, 
all  of  whom  were  indifferently  armed  and  equip- 
ped, saw  at  once  his  inability  to  successfully 
contend  with  the  force  that  had  so  unexpectedly 
appeared  against  him.  No  hope  being  left  of 
saving  the  garrison  but  by  an  immediate  retreat, 
he  despatched  his  stores  and  baggage  in  batteaux 
to  Skenesborough,  and  abandoning  Ticonderoga, 
fell  back  with  the  troops  overland,  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  same  post.  His  flight  no  sooner  be- 
came known,  than  he  was  hotly  pursued  by  a 
detachment  of  the  enemy,  eight  hundred  strong, 
commanded  by  General  Fraser.  The  American 
rear-guard,  consisting  of  three  regiments  num- 
bering about  twelve  hundred  men,  was  overtaken 
the  next  day  at  Hubbardton.  One  of  the  regi- 
ments taking  to  flight,  the  whole  brunt  of  the 
battle  fell  upon  the  two  remaining.  These,  ani- 
mated by  the  exhortations  of  Colonels  Francis 
and  Warner,  fought  for  some  time  with  great 
bravery ;  but  when  Frazer  had  received  a  rein- 
forcement of  Germans  under  Reidesel,  they 
broke  and  dispersed,  leaving  two  hundred  pri- 
soners in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The  post  at 
Skenesborough  having  been  evacuated  and  burn- 
ed, and  Fort  Anne  soon  after  sharing  the  same 
fate,  St.  Clair  fell  back  upon  Rutland ;  but  suc- 
ceeded at  length,  on  the  13th  of  July,  in  joining 
Schuyler  at  Fort  Edward. 


280  HISTORY   OF   XET7   YORK.  [1777. 

Although  at  this  period  in  chief  command  on 
the  northern  frontier,  Schuyler  had  not  been 
able  to  muster  more  than  five  thousand  four 
hundred  men,  even  when  reinforced  by  the  bro- 
ken garrisons  from  Ticonderoga,  Skenesborough, 
and  Fort  Anne.  With  this  vreak  force  he  could 
do  nothing  more  than  endeavour  to  retard  the 
advance  of  the  enemy,  by  breaking  up  the  inter- 
vening bridges  and  causeways,  and  by  obstruct- 
ing the  navigation  of  Wood  Creek.  Upon  the 
approach  of  Burgoyne,  he  evacuated  Fort  Ed- 
ward, and  retreated  across  the  Hudson  to  Sara- 
toga. 

While  the  victorious  army  of  Burgoyne  was 
thus  advancing  with  firm  and  almost  unimpeded 
steps  into  the  interior  of  the  state,  a  detachment 
under  Colonel  St.  Leger,  consisting  of  a  mixed 
body  of  regulars,  militia,  and  rangers,  joined  by 
a  number  of  Indian  warriors  commanded  by 
Brant,  entered  the  western  portion  of  New  York, 
by  way  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Lake  Ontario, 
and  marching  to  the  head  of  the  ]Mohawk  River, 
laid  siege  to  Fort  Schuyler.  As  soon  as  General 
Herkimer  was  made  aware  of  the  approach  of 
St.  Leger,  he  assembled  the  militia  of  Tryon 
county,  and  advanced  to  the  relief  of  the  garri- 
son, which  was  composed  of  two  New  York  re- 
giments, commanded  by  General  Gansevoort. 
Having  notified  Gansevoort  of  his  intentions, 
Herkimer  marched  carelessly  toward  the  fort, 


1777.]  FORT   SCHUYLER   BESIEGED.  281 

■without  any  of  those  precautions  which  the 
nature  of  the  warfare  he  was  engaged  in  should 
have  admonished  him  to  take.  Near  to  the 
road,  and  at  a  distance  of  about  six  miles  from 
the  post  he  was  advancing  to  relieve,  a  detach- 
ment of  regulars  under  Colonel  John  Johnson, 
and  a  party  of  Indians  headed  by  Brant,  en- 
sconced themselves  in  ambush.  After  suflFering 
the  column  to  pass  by,  they  suddenly  fell  upon 
the  rear-guard,  the  Indians  first  pouring  in  a 
destructive  fire,  and  then  completing  the  panic 
by  dashing  upon  the  disordered  militia  with  their 
spears  and  hatchets.  Animated,  however,  by  the 
conduct  of  Herkimer,  the  Americans  succeeded 
in  gaining  a  more  defensible  position,  where  the;)? 
fought  for  some  time  with  desperate  courage. 
Herkimer  himself,  though  mortally  wounded, 
leaned  for  support  against  the  stump  of  a  tree, 
and  continued  to  cheer  the  drooping  spirits  of 
his  men.  A  well-timed  sally  from  the  fort,  con- 
ducted by  Colonel  Willet,  at  length  succeeded 
in  changing  the  fortune  of  the  day.  By  this 
diversion  in  their  favour  the  militia  succeeded 
in  beating  off  the  enemy ;  but  not  before  the 
Americans  had  sustained  a  loss  of  four  hundred 
in  killed  and  wounded,  many  of  whom  were  lead- 
ing and  influential  men. 

Gansevoort  refusing  to  surrender  the  fort,  St. 
Leger  proceeded  to  invest  it  in  form.  As  the 
safety  of  the  post  was  of  the  first  importance  as 

24* 


282  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1777. 

a  means  of  overawing  tlie  Tories  of  that  district, 
Schuyler  despatched  Arnold  to  its  relief.  The 
detachment  of  this  daring  though  unscrupulous 
officer  having  been  joined  bj  a  reinforcement  of 
one  thousand  light  troops  under  General  Larned, 
Arnold  lost  no  time  in  ascending  the  Mohawk ; 
but  learning  that  Gansevoort  was  in  extremity, 
he  quitted  the  main  body,  and  with  nine  hun- 
dred men,  lightly  armed,  pressed  forward  by 
forced  marches.  As  he  continued  to  approach, 
he  threw  forward  spies  with  exaggerated  accounts 
of  his  numbers.  The  statements  made  by  these 
men  operated  so  effectually  upon  the  minds  of 
the  Indians,  who  had  already  suffered  severely 
in  the  affray  with  Herkimer,  that  a  large  part 
of  them  suddenly  quitted  the  English  camp,  and 
fled  into  the  woods.  The  remainder  threatening 
to  abandon  him  in  like  manner  unless  he  retired 
from  before  the  fort,  St.  Leger  broke  up  the 
siege,  and,  hastily  retreating,  returned  to  Mon- 
treal. 

In  the  mean  while,  Schuyler,  being  greatly 
weakened  by  the  detachments  sent  out  under 
Arnold,  withdrew  to  a  stronger  position  among 
the  islands  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk.  By 
this  time  Burgoyne  had  reached  Fort  Edward, 
on  the  east  bank  of  the  Hudson.  From  thence 
he  despatched  Colonel  Baum  to  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Bennington,  a  small  village  in  the  pre- 
sent state  of  Vermont,  for  the  purpose  of  mount- 


1777.]     BATTLE  OF  BENNINGTON.       283 

ing  the  German  dragoons,  and  of  collecting  the 
means  of  transportation  for  the  stores  which  had 
arrived  at  Fort  George.  The  force  ordered  upon 
this  service  consisted  of  eight  hundred  men,  ex- 
clusive of  militia  and  Indians.  A  body  of  New 
Hampshire  militia  having  lately  arrived  at  Ben- 
nington under  the  command  of  Colonel  Stark, 
the  latter,  as  soon  as  he  was  advised  of  the  ad- 
vance of  Baum,  sent  off  for  Warner's  regiment, 
then  encamped  at  Manchester,  and  for  such  other 
parties  of  militia  as  could  be  hastily  collected. 

These  energetic  movements  alarming  Baum  for 
the  safety  of  his  command,  he  halted,  on  the  14th 
of  August,  within  six  miles  of  Bennington  ;  and 
sending  back  to  Burgoyne  for  reinforcements, 
commenced  intrenching  himself.  •  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Breyman,  with  five  hundred  men,  was 
immediately  despatched  to  his  assistance.  The 
heavy  condition  of  the  roads,  and  the  rain  which 
fell  during  the  ensuing  day,  retarded  the  ap- 
proach both  of  Warner  and  Breyman.  Some 
Berkshire  militia,  commanded  by  Colonel  Sim- 
mons, succeeding  in  joining  Stark  on  the  16th, 
the  latter  drew  out  his  forces  and  advanced  to 
the  attack.  As  he  came  in  sight  of  the  enemy, 
he  pointed  them  out  to  his  troops.  "  There  are 
the  red-coats,"  said  he:  "they  must  be  ours 
before  the  sun  goes  down,  or  Sally  Stark  sleeps 
a  widow  to-night !"  This  pithy  expression  of 
his  own  determination  gave  extraordinary  ani- 


284  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1777. 

mation  to  the  spirits  of  his  hardy  mountaineers. 
The  assault  was  made  simultaneously  on  front 
and  rear  of  the  intrenchments  in  four  columns. 
After  two  hours'  hard  fighting,  the  militia  and 
Indians  ahandoned  the  defences,  and  fled  for 
safety  to  the  woods. 

Colonel  Baum  received  a  mortal  wound ;  hut 
the  Germans  continued  to  ofl'er  a  vigorous  resist- 
ance, until  nearly  the  whole  of  them  were  either 
killed  or  disarmed.  The  victory  was  scarcely 
won  before  the  reinforcements  under  Breyman 
arrived  on  the  ground.  A  new  engagement  en- 
sued, which  was  continued  until  night,  when 
Breyman,  having  expended  his  ammunition,  re- 
treated with  the  loss  of  his  artillery  and  baggage. 
The  victory  at  Bennington  threw  into  the  hands 
of  Stark  six  hundred  prisoners,  besides  a  large 
and  much  needed  supply  of  small  arms,  together 
with  four  pieces  of  artillery.  Two  hundred  of 
the  enemy  were  left  dead  on  the  field.  The 
American  loss  Avas  inconsiderable,  being  only 
fourteen  killed  and  forty-two  wounded. 

The  battle  of  Bennington  formed  the  turning 
point  in  the  fortunes  of  Burgoyne.  Burning  to 
revenge  the  cruelties  committed  by  the  Indians 
in  the  pay  of  the  British,  it  needed  but  the  un- 
expected success  achieved  by  Stark  to  inspire 
the  people  with  a  determination  to  expel  the  in- 
vader. Volunteers  soon  began  to  flock  into  the 
camp  of  Schuyler  from  all  quarters.     Two  bri- 


1777.]      BATTLE   ON   BEHMUS'S   HEIGHTS.  285 

gades  arriving  about  the  same  time  from  the 
Highlands,  the  army  was  rapidly  acquiring  suf- 
ficient strength  for  eifective  operations.  At  this 
juncture  the  patriotic  Schuyler,  by  reason  of  his 
unpopularity  with  the  eastern  troops,  was  super- 
seded in  the  chief  command  by  General  Gates. 

The  retreat  of  St.  Leger  and  the  defeat  of 
Baum  left  Burgoyne  beset  with  difficulties. 
These  difficulties  were  not  lessened  by  the  sub- 
sequent desertion  of  his  Indian  allies  and  Cana- 
dian followers.  Still  he  determined  to  persevere. 
Breaking  up  his  camp  at  Fort  Edward,  he  cross- 
ed the  Hudson  on  the  14th  of  September,  and 
took  up  his  line  of  march  from  Saratoga.  While 
Lincoln,  with  a  body  of  militia,  hovered  upon 
the  British,  Gates  advanced  from  his  camp  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk,  and  intrenched  him- 
self at  Behmus's  Heights,  a  strong  position 
overlooking  the  Hudson,  three  miles  above 
Stillwater. 

On  the  19th  of  September  the  light  parties  of 
the  enemy  approached  so  near  to  the  American 
encampment,  that  Morgan  was  despatched  with 
his  riflemen  to  attack  them.  While  driving  them 
before  him,  he  unexpectedly  encountered  the 
British  advance,  and  in  turn  was  himself  driven 
back.  Successive  reinforcements  coming  up  on 
both  sides,  the  action  at  length  became  general. 
The  battle  was  continued  with  varying  success 
until  darkness  separated  the  combatants.     The 


286        HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.      [1777. 

British  claimed  the  victory,  from  maintaining  pos- 
session of  the  ground  ;  but  this  equivocal  honour 
was  more  than  compensated  by  the  loss  they  had 
sustained  in  the  encounter.  Nor  was  the  dubious 
result  of  the  first  battle  of  Behmus's  Heights  the 
only  source  of  anxiety  to  the  British  general. 
Two  days  previous  to  this,  a  detachment  of  Lin- 
coln's militia,  led  by  Colonel  Brown,  captured 
the  posts  at  Lake  George,  and,  after  receiving 
an  addition  to  their  force,  proceeded  to  Ticon- 
deroga  and  invested  it.  Short  of  provisions, 
with  his  communications  cut  off,  and  opposed  by 
an  army  constantly  increasing  in  numbers,  the 
situation  of  Burgoyne  daily  became  more  immi- 
nent. Could  he  have  held  out  until  a  diversion 
had  been  created  from  below  by  Clinton,  he 
might  yet  have  been  relieved ;  but  the  pressure 
of  circumstances  left  him  no  alternative  but  to 
fight  or  retreat.  In  view  of  the  former,  he  de- 
termined on  a  reconnoissance  of  the  American 
lines.  Placing  himself,  on  the  7th  of  October, 
at  the  head  of  fifteen  hundred  men,  he  formed 
them  in  battle  array  within  a  mile  of  the  Ameri- 
can camp.  This  was  scarcely  accomplished  be- 
fore a  furious  attack  was  made  upon  his  left  by 
Poor's  New  Hampshire  brigade.  The  grenadiers 
under  Major  Ackland  met  the  assault  with  great 
gallantry  and  firmness.  The  fire  of  the  Ameri- 
cans soon  extended  along  the  front,  until  the 
right  wing  was  also  implicated.     The  battle  now 


•1777.]  DEFEAT    OP    BURGOYNE.  287 

deepened.  Gates,  as  usual  with  him,  was  not 
present  in  the  field ;  but  Arnold,  though  de- 
prived of  his  command  through  the  jealousy  of 
Gates,  or  his  own  insubordinate  spirit,  rode 
everywhere  through  the  thickest  of  the  fight, 
cheering  on  the  men,  and  exhibiting  in  his  own 
person  an  example  of  the  most  desperate  bra- 
very. The  British  right,  outflanked  by  the  rifle- 
men under  Morgan,  at  length  gave  way.  A 
portion  of  the  remaining  troops  being  detached 
to  cover  the  retreat  of  their  companions,  the  left 
wing,  overpowered  by  superior  numbers,  was 
compelled  to  yield  the  ground  they  had  contested 
so  long.  Major  Ackland  was  badly  wounded 
and  taken  prisoner.  General  Frazer,  while 
making  the  most  active  exertions  to  rally  his 
men,  also  received  a  mortal  wound  from  a  rifle 
ball.  Leaving  six  pieces  of  artillery  in  the 
hands  of  the  victorious  Americans,  the  whole 
detachment  retreated  to  their  camp.  They  had 
scarcely  entered  it  before  a  body  of  troops,  ga- 
thered by  Arnold  from  all  quarters  of  the  field, 
pressed  forward  through  a  tremendous  shower 
of  grape  and  musketry,  and  commenced  an  as- 
sault upon  the  works.  Arnold,  supported  by  a 
few  daring  men,  desperately  forced  his  way  with- 
in the  intrenchments ;  but  his  horse  being  shot 
under  him,  and  himself  wounded,  his  followers 
fell  back,  bearing  him  with  them.  A  much  more 
important  success  attended  the  efforts  of  Lieu- 


288  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1777. 

tenant-Colonel  Brooke.  Leaving  Arnold  on  his 
left,  he  led  Jackson's  Massachusetts  regiment 
against  a  redoubt  occupied  by  the  German  re- 
serve, stormed  it  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
and  utterly  routing  the  enemy,  maintained  his 
conquest  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the  British 
to  compel  him  to  relinquish  its  possession. 

Conscious  of  the  insecurity  of  his  position,  in 
the  face  of  an  army  far  superior  in  numbers  and 
already  flushed  Tvith  victory,  Burgoyne  silently 
abandoned  his  encampment  in  the  night,  and 
withdrew  to  the  higher  ground  in  the  rear.  The 
next  day  was  exhausted  in  skirmishes.  On  the 
9th,  fearful  of  being  hemmed  in,  he  retreated  to 
Saratoga,  with  the  intention  of  falling  back  upon 
Fort  Edward ;  but  his  communications  with  that 
place  were  already  effectually  cut  off.  Following 
up  their  success,  the  Americans  next  assailed  the 
boats  loaded  with  the  only  supplies  and  provisions 
yet  remaining  to  the  British  army,  and  captured 
a  considerable  number.  In  this  strait,  with  an 
army  greatly  reduced  in  numbers,  with  no  hope 
remaining  of  being  relieved  by  Clinton,  and  with 
only  three  days'  provisions  remaining,  Burgoyne 
called  a  council  of  war.  A  capitulation  being 
advised,  the  terms  were  finally  agreed  upon ;  and 
on  the  17th  of  October  the  shattered  remains  of 
the  invading  army,  to  the  number  of  five  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  men,  surrendered  themselves 
prisoners  of  war. 


1777.]  ADVANCE    OF    CLINTON.  289 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Clinton's  diversion  in  favour  of  Burgoyne — First  meeting  of  the 
State  legislature  at  Kingston — France  and  the  United  States 
— Eflects  of  Burgoyne's  surrender — Conciliatory  propositions 
from  Lord  North — Treaty  of  alliance  between  France  and  the 
United  Colonies — Howe  abandons  Philadelphia,  and  retreats 
to  New  York — Arrival  of  a  French  fleet — D'Estaing  offers 
to  co-operate  in  the  reduction  of  Newport — Puts  out  to  sea — 
Americans  retire  from  before  Newport — War  on  the  frontiers 
— Massacre  at  Wyoming — American  expedition  against 
Unadilla — Indian  incursion  into  Cherry  Valley — Campaign 
■  of  1779 — Predatory  incursions  by  the  enemy — Capture  of 
Stony  Point  by  the  British — Recapture  by  Wayne — Sulli- 
■van's  expedition  against  the  Indians — Exploration  and  de- 
struction of  the  Indian  villages  in  the  Genesee  Valley — 
Campaign  of  1781 — South  Carolina  overrun  by  the  enemy 
— Defeat  of  Gates — Arrival  of  Rochambeau  at  Rhode  Island 
— Treason  of  Benedict  Arnold — Execution  of  Andr6 — Vir- 
ginia ravaged  by  Arnold  and  Phillips — Operations  of  Corn- 
wallis — Battle  of  the  Cowpens — Battle  of  Guilford  Courthouse 
— Greene  recrosses  the  Dan — Cornwallis  enters  Virginia — 
Takes  post  at  Yorktown — Siege  of  Yorktown — Capitulation. 

Had  it  been  possible  for  the  invading  armj  to 
have  held  out  but  for  a  short  time  longer,  the 
campaign  of  1777  might  yet  have  terminated 
favourably  for  the  British  arms.  While  the 
Americans  were  pushing  their  advantages  to  the 
utmost,  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  three  thousand 
men,  was  rapidly  ascending  the  Hudson  to  tho 
relief  of  the  embarrassed  Burgoyne.  On  the 
5th  of  October  he  attacked  Forts  Clinton  and 
Montgomery,  which,  after  a  brief  defence,  were 

25 


290  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [ITTS. 

captured,  witli  a  loss  to  the  Americans  in  killed 
and  wounded  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  men.  To 
General  Putnam  had  been  confided  the  charge  of 
guarding  the  passes  of  the  Highlands ;  but  he  was 
compelled  to  fall  back  before  the  British  advance, 
and  retreat  to  Fishkill,  leaving  Peekskill,  for- 
merly his  head-quarters,  together  with  Forts  In- 
dependence and  Constitution,  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  The  Tories  under  Tryon,  and  a  strong 
detachment  of  regulars  under  Vaughan,  ravaged 
and  burned  the  shores  of  the  Hudson  almost  with 
impunity.  The  surrender  of  Burgoyne  at  length 
put  a  stop  to  these  wanton  outrages.  After  as- 
cending the  river  to  within  sixty  miles  of  Albany, 
the  British  forces  returned  to  New  York,  bearing 
with  them,  from  the  captured  forts,  an  immense 
supply  of  artillery  and  ammunition. 

Previous  to  these  alarming  movements  on  the 
part  of  Clinton,  the  first  legislature  of  the  state 
of  New  York  assembled,  on  the  9th  of  Septem- 
ber, at  Kingston,  a  small  village  on  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson.  After  organizing  the  govern- 
ment, appointing  delegates  to  the  general  con- 
gress, and  making  provision  for  the  defence  of 
the  country,  the  assembly  adjourned.  On  the 
15th  of  January,  1778,  the  legislature  met  at 
Poughkeepsie,  when  an  act  was  passed  approving 
the  articles  of  confederation  as  drawn  up  by  the 
general  congress,  and  authorizing  the  delegates 
from  New  York  to  ratify  them. 


1778.]      TREATY  WITH  FRANCE.         291 

It  was  at  tliis  period  that  France  began  to 
evince  a  disposition  to  assist  the  confederated 
colonies  in  their  struaisle  for  freedom.  The 
American  commissioners  at  Paris  had  been  for 
many  months  vainly  endeavouring  to  obtain 
something  more  than  vague  promises  from  the 
French  ministry,  when  the  surrender  of  Bur- 
goyne  impressed  Louis  XIV.,  and  Yergennes  his 
minister,  with  more  confidence  in  the  final  issue 
of  the  struggle. 

This  feeling  was  not  weakened  by  the  conduct 
of  Lord  North,  the  British  minister,  who,  on  the 
14th  of  February,  introduced  into  parliament  a 
plan  for  conciliating  the  colonies,  by  which  the 
whole  of  the  original  ground  of  dispute  was  em- 
phatically surrendered.  Fearful  that  the  Ame- 
ricans, already  deeply  embarrassed  by  debts, 
divided  to  some  degree  among  themselves,  and 
resting  more  upon  the  justice  of  their  cause  than 
the  strength  of  their  armies,  would  conclude  to 
accept  the  olive  branch  so  tardily  tendered  them 
by  the  British  minister,  Vergennes,  actuated  less 
by  a  love  of  liberty  than  by  a  desire  to  seve*'  from 
Great  Britain  her  noblest  dependencies,  expressed 
his  willingness  to  enter  upon  treaties  of  friend- 
ship and  commerce,  and  of  defensive  alliance. 
On  the  8th  of  February  these  treaties  were  con- 
cluded. Impressed  with  the  danger  that  now 
menaced  him.  General  Howe,  fearing  lest  the 
Delaware  should  be  blockaded  by  the  arrival  of 


292  HISTORY   OF   XETV  TORE.  [1778. 

a  Frencli  fleet,  at  once  evacuated  Philadelpliia, 
and  retiring  across  the  Jerseys,  closely  pursued 
"hj  Washington,  concentrated  the  whole  of  the 
British  army  at  New  York.  He  had  scarcely 
reached  there,  before  Count  D'Estaing,  in  com- 
mand of  a  French  fleet  consisting  of  twelve  ships 
of  the  line  and  four  frigates,  arrived  off  the  Dela- 
ware. Having  on  board  four  thousand  troops, 
D'Estaing  signified  his  willingness  to  co-operate 
in  the  reduction  of  Newport :  but  being  drawn 
out  to  sea  in  hopes  of  giving  battle  to  the  Bri- 
tish squadron  under  Admiral  Lord  Howe,  the 
two  fleets,  shattered  by  a  storm,  were  sepa- 
rated, and  D'Estaing  was  compelled  to  put  into 
the  harbour  of  Boston  to  refit.  The  Americans 
under  Sullivan,  being  thus  deprived  of  the  ser- 
vices of  their  powerful  ally,  after  waiting  for 
some  time  in  the  hope  that  D'Estaing  would  re- 
turn, abandoned  the  lines  they  had  established 
with  so  much  labour,  and  retreated  from  the 
island.  The  American  forces  under  Washington 
were  at  this  period  encamped  at  White  Plains ; 
but  the  remainder  of  the  campaign  was  not 
marked  by  any  military  operations  of  importance. 
A  desultory  warfare  along  the  frontiers  was  still 
kept  up,  the  settlers  being  constantly  called  upon 
to  contend  against  rovingr  bands  of  Tories  and 
Indians.  The  beautiful  valley  of  Wyoming  Avas 
laid  waste  in  July  of  this  year  by  a  party  of 
eight  hundred  rangers  and  Indians,  under  the 


1778.]     INCURSION   INTO    CIIERIIY   VALLEY.     293 

command  of  Colonel  John  Butler.  Three  hun- 
dred of  the  settlers  were  either  killed  or  carried 
off  into  a  captivity  from  which  but  few  ever  re- 
turned. The  horrid  barbarities  practised  by  the 
Indians  on  this  occasion  excited  throughout  the 
provinces  a  feeling  of  intense  indignation. 

During  the  month  of  October  an  expedition 
was  organized  against  Unadilla,  a  settlement  of 
Indians  and  refugees  near  the  head-waters  of  the 
Susquehannah.  The  enterprise  was  completely 
successful ;  the  settlement  was  destroyed  utterly, 
and  its  sanguinary  inhabitants  driven  for  refuge 
into  the  neighbouring  forests. 

While  these  scenes  were  enacting,  Captain 
Walter  Butler,  a  son  of  that  Colonel  Butler  who 
led  the  Tories  at  the  massacre  of  Wyoming,  after 
making  his  escape  from  the  jail  at  Albany,  ob- 
tained from  his  father  at  Niagara  the  command 
of  two  hundred  rangers,  and  being  joined  by  five 
hundred  Indians  under  Brant,  made  a  descent, 
on  the  10th  of  November,  upon  the  frontier  set- 
tlement of  Cherry  Valley.  The  house  of  Colonel 
Samuel  Campbell,  which,  by  increasing  the 
strength  of  its  doors  and  windows,  and  by  sur- 
rounding it  with  an  embankment  of  logs  and 
earth,  had  been  converted  into  a  rude  fortress, 
was  fortunately  in  a  suflBciently  defensive  con- 
dition to  enable  its  small  garrison  of  Continen- 
tal troops  to  resist  the  attacks  of  the  enemy ; 
but  Colonel  Alden,  together  with  many  of  the 
25* 


29-4  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1779. 

villagers,  and  such  of  his  command  as  carelessly 
lodged  beyond  the  walls  of  the  fort,  fell  victims 
to  the  fury  of  the  savages.  The  settlement  around 
was  completely  devastated.  Sixteen  of  the  gar- 
rison, and  thirty-two  of  the  inhabitants,  princi- 
pally women  and  children,  were  killed.  Between 
thirty  and  forty  others  were  led  away  into  a 
harsh  and  almost  hopeless  captivity. 

The  closing  portion  of  the  campaign  of  1778 
passed  away  without  any  military  operations 
more  memorable  than  the  surprise  and  partial 
slaughter  of  Baylor's  dragoons  at  Tappan,  and 
of  Pulaski's  legion  at  Egg  Harboui*,  by  British 
detachments.  At  this  period  the  numerical 
strength  of  the  British  and  American  armies 
was  about  equal ;  but  the  former  were  concen- 
trated within  the  lines  at  New  York  and  New- 
port, while  the  latter  were  considerably  scattered. 
Too  weak  to  undertake  more  active  military 
operations,  Washington  pressed  forward  to  a 
completion  the  important  fortifications  at  West 
Point ;  and  after  arranging  all  his  disposable 
forces  so  as  to  form  a  line  of  cantonments  be- 
tween Long  Island  Sound  and  the  Delaware,  re- 
sumed, for  the  winter,  his  old  head-quarters  at 
Middlebrook. 

The  campaign  of  1779  was  productive  of  no 
decisive  results  on  either  side.  During  the 
month  of  May,  the  river  counties  of  Virginia 
were  harassed  and  plundered  by  a  strong  force 


1779.]         RECAPTURE    OF    STONY    POINT.  295 

of  the  enemy  under  General  Matthews.  After 
remaining  in  that  province  for  a  month,  the  ma- 
rauding party  returned  to  New  York  with  their 
spoils.  Upon  being  rejoined  by  this  detachment, 
Clinton  ascended  the  Hudson  in  two  divisions, 
and  captured  the  American  works  at  Verplanck's 
Point  and  Stony  Point.  Leaving  a  strong  gar- 
rison to  maintain  the  conquered  posts,  he  fell 
back  leisurely  to  New  York. 

A  predatory  excursion  was  soon  after  under- 
taken by  Tryon.  New  Haven  was  plundered ; 
Fairfield,  Norwalk,  and  Green  Farms  were  wan- 
tonly burned ;  New  London  escaped  the  same 
fate  only  by  the  expedition  under  Tryon  being 
suddenly  recalled.  The  Americans  had  surprised 
Stony  Point. 

The  command  of  this  daring  enterprise  had 
been  intrusted  by  Washington  to  General  Wayne. 
The  design  was  well  planned  and  admirably  exe- 
cuted. Two  columns,  led  by  Wayne  and  Stew- 
art, each  preceded  by  a  forlorn  hope  and  van- 
guard, appeared  before  the  works  about  midnight 
of  August  16th,  and  assaulting  them  from  oppo- 
site sides,  carried  them  with  great  gallantry  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet.  Fifty  of  the  garrison 
were  killed,  and  the  remainder,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  in  number,  taken  prisoners.  The  American 
loss  in  killed  and  wounded  amounted  to  about 
one  hundred  men. 

As  Stony  Point  commanded  the  works  at  Ver  • 


296  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YOKE.  [1779. 

planck's,  preparations  were  immediately  made 
for  an  attack  upon  the  latter ;  but  the  British 
appearing  in  force,  Washington,  fearing  at  that 
juncture  to  risk  a  battle,  stripped  Stony  Point 
of  its  artillery  and  stores,  and  after  dismantling 
its  fortifications  abandoned  it  to  the  enemy.  . 

In  the  mean  while,  an  expedition  had  been 
organized  to  penetrate  the  country  of  the  Six 
Nations,  and  avenge  upon  the  tribes  in  alliance 
with  the  British  the  barbarities  which  had  been 
committed  upon  the  frontiers.  The  chief  com- 
mand in  this  important  enterprise  was  intrusted 
to  General  Sullivan,  whose  army  was  composed 
of  four  thousand  Continental  troops  and  one 
thousand  militia.  The  latter,  mainly  made  up 
of  the  first  and  third  New  York  regiments,  were 
commanded  by  General  James  Clinton.  So  soon 
as  the  entire  force  was  concentrated,  Sullivan 
marched  from  Tioga  on  the  26th  of  August, 
throwing  out  flanking  troops  on  each  side,  and  a 
corps  of  rangers  in  advance.  After  laying  waste, 
on  the  28th,  the  settlements  at  Chemung,  the 
army  bivouacked  for  the  night.  On  the  morning 
of  the  29th  they  encountered  a  large  force  of 
Indians  and  Tories  under  Brant  and  Butler. 
These  being  utterly  dispersed  after  a  sharp  and 
well-contested  battle,  Sullivan  continued  on  his 
route  until  he  had  traversed  the  whole  of  the  fer- 
tile valley  of  the  Genesee,  at  that  time  the  heart 
of  the  Indian  settlements.    Everywhere  he  went, 


1780.]  CHARLESTON    SURRENDERED.  297 

he  cut  down  the  orchards,  destroyed  the  corn, 
and  laid  the  vilhages  in  ruins. 

The  country  of  the  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and 
Senecas  being  thus  completely  laid  waste,  those 
tribes,  together  with  the  refugees  they  had  shel- 
tered, were  driven  back  upon  Niagara,  where 
they  became  wholly  dependent  upon  the  English 
for  supplies.  Many  of  them  never  returned  to 
their  old  homes ;  but  the  spirit  of  revenge  still 
animated  their  bosoms,  and  though  checked  for 
a  season,  they  resumed,  after  a  brief  interval, 
their  former  savage  inroads. 

The  course  of  the  war  during  the  campaign  of 
1780  rolled  southward.  Leaving  Knyphausen  to 
protect  New  York,  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  had 
succeeded  Howe  in  the  chief  command  of  the 
British-American  forces,  sailed  with  eight  thou- 
sand men  against  Charleston,  the  capital  of  South 
Carolina.  The  city  was  surrendered  after  a  brief 
defence,  and  General  Lincoln,  with  five  thousand 
American  troops,  became  prisoners  of  war.  The 
remainder  of  the  province  being  speedily  subju- 
gated, Clinton  returned  to  New  York,  leaving 
Cornwallis  with  four  thousand  men  to  maintain 
his  conquest. 

Prompt  in  their  endeavours  to  recover  so  im- 
portant a  province  from  the  hands  of  the  enemy, 
the  exertions  of  Congress  speedily  resulted  in 
the  formation  of  a  new  southern  army,  the  chief 
command  of  which  was  sriven  to  General  Gates. 


298  HISTORY    OF    NEW   YORK.  [1780. 

On  the  16th  of  August  he  encountered  Cornwallis 
at  Camden,  but  his  forces  vrere  routed  and  dis- 
persed M'ith  great  loss. 

At  the  north,  the  aspect  of  affairs  was  equally 
gloomy.  Dui'ing  the  month  of  July  a  powerful 
French  fleet,  having  on  board  six  thousand  troops 
commanded  by  Count  de  Rochambeau,  arrived 
at  Rhode  Island ;  but  were  prevented,  for  some 
time,  from  co-operating  with  the  army  under 
Washington,  owing  to  the  rigorous  blockade 
maintained  by  a  superior  naval  force  of  the 
enemy. 

It  was  at  this  gloomy  period  of  the  war  that 
Benedict  Arnold  was  meditating  treason  against 
his  country.  Desperately  brave,  ambitious  of 
distinction,  but  vain  and  utterly  unprincipled, 
Arnold,  for  his  eminent  services  in  the  battles 
which  preceded  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  had 
been  elevated  to  that  rank  in  the  army  to  which 
he  had  long  aspired,  and,  as  a  further  testimony 
to  his  great  military  merits,  had  been  intrusted 
with  the  command  at  Philadelphia.  Gay  com-- 
pany  and  an  extravagant  style  of  living  soon  in- 
volved him  in  debts  and  difficulties,  which  were 
not  lessened  by  the  means  he  took  to  extricate 
himself.  Charged  by  the  civil  authorities  of 
Pennsylvania  with  resorting  to  improper  means 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  moneys  his  ne- 
cessities were  constantly  requiring,  he  was  at 
length  tried    by  court-martial,  found  guilty  on 


1780.]        TREASON  OF  ARNOLD.        299 

two  of  the  counts,  and  sentenced  to  Le  publicly 
reprimanded  by  the  commander-in-chief.  This 
wound  to  his  vanity  was  deepened  still  more  by 
the  refusal  of  Congress  to  allow  the  entire  amount 
of  his  claims  against  the  United  States,  for  sums 
alleged  to  have  been  expended  by  him  during 
the  expedition  into  Canada.  Smothering  his  re- 
sentment, he  opened  a  treasonable  correspond- 
ence with  Sir  Henry  Clinton  through  Major 
Andre,  adjutant-general  of  the  British  army. 
About  the  same  time  he  obtained  from  Washing- 
ton command  of  the  fortress  at  West  Point,  with 
the  deliberate  design  of  betraying  it  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy.  In  order  to  make  the  ne- 
cessary arrangements  for  consummating  this  act 
of  treason,  Andr^  was  reluctantly  prevailed  upon 
to  ascend  the  Hudson  on  board  the  sloop-of-war 
Vulture,  and  to  hold  an  interview  with  Arnold 
within  the  American  lines.  Day  beginning  to 
dawn  before  the  conference  was  terminated,  Ar- 
nold induced  Andrd  to  go  with  him  to  the  house 
of  one  Joshua  H.  Smith,  where,  after  the  busi- 
ness was  concluded,  the  young  officer  remained 
concealed  until  the  evening.  The  return  to  the 
Vulture  being  considered  hazardous,  Andrd,  dis- 
guised as  a  citizen,  with  a  pass  from  Arnold, 
and  having  Smith  for  his  guide,  set  off  on  horse- 
back overland  for  New  York. 

The  next  morning,  after  parting  with  Smith, 
he  was  intercepted,  near  a  small  brook  about  a 


300  HISTORY    OF    NEW    YORK.  [1780. 

mile  north  of  Tarry  town,  by  Paulding,  Williams, 
and  Van  Wart,  three  armed  scouts,  to  whom, 
deceived  by  their  replies,  Andre  avowed  himself 
a  British  officer,  travelling  on  pressing  business. 
He  was  immediately  seized.  Rejecting  indig- 
nantly the  offers  with  which,  on  discovering  his 
mistake,  Andrd  tempted  his  captors  to  release 
him,  they  instituted  a  search  of  his  person,  and 
having  found  papers  of  a  suspicious  character 
concealed  in  his  stockings,  they  conducted  him  a 
close  prisoner  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Jamison, 
who  was  in  command  at  the  nearest  American 
outpost.  Recognising  the  papers  to  be  in  the 
handwriting  of  Arnold,  yet  unwilling  to  believe 
in  the  guilt  of  his  superior  officer,  Jamison  sent 
a  messenger  to  Arnold,  informing  him  of  the  ar- 
rest of  Andre,  who  as  yet  was  only  known  by  his 
assumed  name  of  Anderson ;  Avhile  he  despatched 
the  papers  found  in  the  boots  of  the  prisoner  by 
an  express  to  Washington,  then  in  the  act  of  re- 
turning from  Hartford  to  West  Point. 

Two  or  three  hours  before  Washington  arrived, 
the  letter  from  Jamison  relating  to  his  prisoner 
was  put  into  the  hands  of  Arnold.  Instantly 
aroused  to  a  sense  of  his  danger,  the  guilt- 
stricken  traitor  rose  hurriedly  from  the  table, 
and  excusing  himself  to  his  guests,  hastened  to 
the  river,  where  he  flung  himself  into  his  barge, 
and  passing  the  American  forts  waving  a  white 
kerchief,  the  usual  signal  of  a  flag-boat,  took  re- 


1781.]  BATTLE    OF   THE    COWPENS.  301 

fuge  on  board  the  Vulture,  wliich  still  remained 
at  anchor  in  tlie  river. 

The  case  of  Andri^  excited  the  profoundest 
commiseration,  even  in  the  breasts  of  his  judges. 
Young,  generous,  accomplished,  and  of  high  rank 
in  the  British  army,  ho  had  been  reluctantly  in- 
duced to  remain  within  the  American  lines,  and 
to  assume  that  disguise  and  false  character  by 
which,  forfeiting  his  right  to  be  treated  as  a  pri- 
soner of  war,  he  subjected  himself  to  the  sum- 
mary and  ignominious  punishment  that  military 
usage  accords  to  the  common  spy.  In  spite  of 
the  earnest  entreaties  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  he 
was  sentenced  by  a  court-martial  to  be  hanged ; 
and  his  execution  took  place  at  Tappan  on  the 
2d  of  October. 

The  campaign  of  1781  opened  at  the  south. 
While  Virginia  was  again  suffering  greatly  from 
predatory  incursions  led  by  Phillips  and  the 
traitor  Arnold,  Cornwallis  prepared  to  invade 
North  Carolina.  General  Greene,  who  had  su- 
perseded Gates  in  command  of  the  American 
army  in  the  south,  was  gradually  collecting  a 
force  sufficient  to  resume  active  operations. 
Morgan,  with  a  strong  detachment,  being  sta- 
tioned in  the  western  part  of  South  Carolina, 
Cornwallis  despatched  the  impetuous  Tarleton  to 
bring  him  to  battle.  At  Tarleton' s  approach, 
Morgan  fell  back  to  the  Cowpens,  where,  on  the 
17th  of  January,  he  made  a  determined  and  suc- 

26 


302  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1781. 

cessful  stand.  The  British,  one  thousand  in 
number,  were  defeated  with  great  loss.  Tarleton 
himself  was  wounded,  and  narrowly  escaped  cap- 
ture during  his  subsequent  flight.  Foiled  in  his 
attempt  upon  Morgan,  Cornwallis  now  turned  in 
pursuit  of  Greene,  and,  after  a  long  series  of 
manoeuvres,  a  battle  was  fought  on  the  8th  of 
March  at  Guilford  Courthouse,  in  which  the  Bri- 
tish were  victorious.  Greene  retreated  for  safety 
across  the  Dan ;  but  as  soon  as  Cornwallis  had 
retired  toward  Wilmington,  Greene  repassed  the 
Dan,  and  boldly  leading  his  forces  into  South 
Carolina,  advanced  upon  Camden,  where  Lord 
Rawdon  was  in  command  of  the  British  outposts. 
On  the  25th  of  April  the  latter  attacked  Greene 
at  Hobkirk's  Hill,  and,  after  a  sharp  contest,  the 
Americans  were  compelled  to  give  way,  retiring 
in  good  order  to  Rugeley's  Mills,  where  they  en- 
camped. In  the  mean  time,  Lee  and  Marion  had 
succeeded  in  breaking  the  British  line  of  commu- 
nication north  of  the  Santee  by  the  capture  of 
Fort  Watson.  They  next  laid  siege  to  Fort 
Motte,  and  Rawdon,  finding  himself  compelled 
to  concentrate  his  forces,  abandoned  his  whole 
line  of  posts,  and  fell  back  to  Eutaw  Sj^rings. 
The  battle  which  was  fought  at  this  place  on  the 
8th  of  September  determined  him  to  retire  be- 
hind the  stronger  defences  at  Charleston. 

In  the  mean  while,  Cornwallis,  finding  it  im- 
possible to  overtake  Greene,  left  the  defence  of 


1781.]  CORNAVALLIS   AT   YORKTOWN.  303 

South  Carolina  to  Rawdon,  and  puslied  rapidly  into 
Virginia.  Lafayette  was  at  once  despatched  with 
a  corps  of  twelve  hundred  men  to  oppose  him; 
but  his  force  was  too  weak  to  oiFer  any  effectual 
resistance.  The  army  of  Cornwallis,  swelled  by 
reinforcements  from  New  York,  amounted  at 
this  time  to  eight  thousand  men.  Retiring  from 
Richmond  as  the  enemy  advanced,  Lafayette  fell 
back  toward  the  Rappahannock,  where  he  formed 
a  junction  with  Wayne,  who,  with  one  thousand 
troops  of  the  Pennsylvania  line,  had  marched  to 
meet  him. 

While  these  movements  were  in  progress,  Clin- 
ton, becoming  apprehensive  that  Washington  and 
Rochambeau  would  attack  New  York  in  concert 
with  a  French  fleet  expected  to  arrive  in  August, 
sent  instructions  to  Cornwallis  to  select  a  strong 
position  upon  the  seaboard,  and  hold  himself  in 
readiness  to  embark  at  any  moment.  Li  obe- 
dience to  these  orders,  Cornwallis  retired  across 
the  James'  River  to  Yorktown,  where  he  forti- 
fied himself  as  strongly  as  the  situation  would 
admit. 

New  York  was  indeed  the  original  point  se- 
lected for  attack  by  Washington ;  but  learning 
subsequently  that  De  Grasse  intended  sailing 
with  his  fleet  for  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  he  altered 
his  plan  of  operations,  and  resolved  to  attempt 
the  capture  of  Cornwallis.     Before  Sir  Henry 


30-4  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1781. 

Clinton  was  aware  of  tliis  design,  the  combined 
French  and  American  forces  had  marched  with 
great  secrecy  and  expedition  overland  to  the 
head  of  Elk,  and  embarking  in  transports  already 
collected  there,  formed  a  junction  soon  after  with 
Lafayette  at  Williamsburg. 

The  retreat  of  Cornwallis  by  water  having  been 
effectually  cut  off  by  the  French  fleet  which  oc- 
cupied the  mouth  of  York  River,  on  the  6th  of 
October  the  siege  of  Yorktown  was  commenced. 
After  defending  the  place  with  great  spirit  and 
resolution,  Cornwallis  proposed  a  cessation  of 
hostilities ;  and  the  terms  of  capitulation  being 
at  length  agreed  upon,  the  garrison,  to  the  num- 
ber of  seven  thousand  men,  surrendered  them- 
selves prisoners  of  war. 

With  the  capitulation  at  Yorktown  the  war  of 
the  Revolution  may  be  said  to  have  ended. 
Skirmishes  between  foraging  parties,  and  occa- 
sional enterprises  conducted  by  spirited  partisan 
corps,  still  indeed  took  place ;  but  England  had 
grown  heartily  weary  of  the  war.  Propositions 
for  negotiation  soon  followed.  On  the  30th  of 
November,  1782,  provisional  articles  of  peace 
were  agreed  to  by  commissioners  respectively 
appointed  for  that  purpose.  From  the  19th  of 
April,  1783,  hostilities  ceased  entirely:  and  on 
the  30th  of  September  the  independence  of  the 
colonies  was  formally  acknowledged  and  ratified. 


1783.]  NEW   YORK   EVACUATED.  305 

On  the  25tli  of  November  the  British  troops 
evacuated  New  York ;  and  from  that  date  not  a 
single  hostile  soldier  remained  in  arms  in  any 
portion  of  the  disenthralled  American  provinces. 


CHAPTER  XXni. 

A  national  convention  called — Influence  of  New  York — Action 
of  the  state  in  regard  to  the  import  duties — Meeting  of  the 
national  convention — Adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution — 
Action  of  the  Anti-Federalist  party  in  New  York — Popular- 
ity of  Clinton — Fierce  party  feuds — Jay  elected  governor — 
Reception  of  his  treaty  with  Great  Britain — Hamilton  insulted 
— Re-election  of  Jay — Foreign  relations  of  the  United  States 
— Alien  and  Sedition  laws — Clinton  elected  governor — Aaron 
Burr — 'His  quarrel  with  Hamilton — Death  of  Hamilton — 
Proscription  of  Burr — His  western  journeys — His  arrest, 
trial,  and  acquittal — Subsequent  life — Increasing  foreign  dif- 
ficulties— British  orders  in  council — Berlin  and  Milan  decrees 
— American  Embargo  Act — Collision  between  the  frigate 
President  and  British  sloop-of-war  Little  Belt — War  declared 
— Ill  success  of  the  American  forces  at  the  north — Important 
naval  victories — Americans  defeated  at  the  River  Raisin — 
Capture  of  York,  Upper  Canada — Forts  George  and  Erie 
abandoned  by  the  British — Defeat  of  Boerstler — Victory  at 
Sackett's  Harbour — Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie — ^Naval 
successes  and  disasters — Battle  of  the  Thames — Defeat  of 
the  Creeks  by  Jackson — Battles  of  Chippewa  and  Bridge- 
water — Capture  of  the  Capitol — Death  of  Ross — Battle  of 
Plattsburg — McDonough's  victory  on  Lake  Champlair-  - 
Battle  of  New  Orleans — Peace  declared, 

The  peace  of  1783  found  the  United  States 
staggering  under  a  burden  of  debts  from  which 
there  was  no  hope  of  a  speedy  relief.  The  abi- 
lity to  maintain  the  independence  which  had  just 

26* 


306  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1787. 

been  acquired  at  so  much  cost  and  bloodshed  was 
also  doubted  by  many  reflecting  minds,  -who,  see- 
ing the  inadequacy  of  the  old  articles  of  confede- 
ration to  perpetuate  an  harmonious  union,  were 
disposed  to  regard  as  impracticable  the  attempt 
to  construct  a  more  perfect  scheme  of  confedera- 
tion. Others,  however,  were  more  sanguine.  Act- 
ing on  the  suggestion  of  certain  commissioners 
from  several  states  of  the  Union,  who  met  at 
Annapolis  in  September,  1786,  Congress,  during 
the  month  of  February,  1787,  recommended  that 
a  convention  of  delegates  should  be  held  at  Phi- 
ladelphia on  the  second  Monday  of  the  succeeding 
May,  for  the  purpose  of  revising  the  articles  of 
the  confederacy.  From  the  selection  of  delegates 
to  this  important  convention  emanated  the  Re- 
publican and  Federal  parties. 

The  influence  of  the  'growing  power  of  New 
York  was  now  about  to  be  felt.  Already,  as 
early  as  1781,  the  state  legislature  had  granted 
the  import  duties  of  New  York  .  city  to  the 
United  States,  giving  to  Congress  full  authority 
to  levy  and  collect  the  same,  and  to  appoint  the 
necessary  ofiicers.  This  act  was  modified  in 
1783 ;  the  general  government  still  received  the 
duties  as  before,  but  the  power  to  appoint  the 
collectors  and  other  ofiicers  was  assumed  by  the 
state.  In  1786  the  act  was  still  further  altered, 
so  as  to  give  the  state  the  sole  power  to  levy  and 
collect  the  duties ;  but  still  placing  the  revenues 


1787.]    MEETING  OP  NATIONAL  CONVENTION.    307 

thus  acquired  at  the  disposal  of  Congress.  This 
law  Congress  refused  to  acknowledge,  and  re- 
quested Governor  Clinton  to  call  an  extra  ses- 
sion of  the  legislature,  in  order  that  the  question 
might  be  reconsidered.  Disclaiming  all  power  to 
convene  the  assembly,  except  under  extraordinary 
circumstances,  Clinton  declined,  stating  his  rea- 
son for  so  doing  to  the  legislature  of  1787.  Gene- 
ral Alexander  Hamilton,  a  steady  advocate  of  a 
strong  national  government,  and  subsequently  to 
become  so  well  known  as  the  bold  and  able  de- 
fender of  the  Federal  Constitution,  was  at  this 
period  a  member  of  the  assembly.  As  chairman 
of  the  customary  committee,  he  prepared  an  an- 
swer to  the  governor's  opening  speech,  in  which 
he  rigidly  refrained  from  any  comment  upon 
Clinton's  refusal  to  call  an  extra  session.  This 
roused  the  friends  of  the  latter,  who  offered  an 
amendment  approving  the  course  of  the  governor, 
which,  after  an  animated  debate,  was  carried  by 
a  large  majority.  Having  decided  to  send  dele- 
gates to  the  general  convention  at  Philadelphia, 
Hamilton,  Yates,  and  Lansing  were  appointed, 
but  with  their  course  of  action  bounded  by  par- 
ticular instructions. 

The  national  convention  met  at  Philadelphia 
at  the  appointed  time,  and  on  proceeding  to  the 
business  before  them,  commenced  a  discussion  of 
three  separate  plans,  presenting  marked  differ- 
ences from  each  other.     The  first  proposed  an 


308  HISTORY    OF    XEW   YORK.  [1788. 

enlargement  of  the  poTrers  of  the  confederacy ; 
and  it  was  this  plan  for  which  the  delegates  from 
New  York  were  instructed  to  vote.  Its  rejection 
being  determined  upon  by  the  agreement  of  a  ma- 
jority of  the  members  to  adopt  a  new  form  of  go- 
vernment, Yates  and  Lansing  withdrew  from  the 
convention  ;  but  Hamilton  determined  to  risk  the 
censure  of  his  constituents  by  placing  liimself  at 
the  head  of  a  second  party,  who  strongly  advo- 
cated the  plan  of  a  purely  national  government. 

"  The  Virginia  plan,"  which  was  the  third,  was 
calculated  to  conciliate  the  prejudices  of  both  ex- 
tremes, by  offering  a  frame  of  government  partly 
national  and  partly  federal.  The  constitution 
formed  upon  this  plan  was  finally  adopted,  though 
not  without  many  ominous  misgivings  on  the  part 
of  those  delegates  who  reluctantly  voted  for  it. 

The  Anti-Federalists  in  New  York  immediately 
arrayed  themselves  in  strong  opposition.  They 
denounced  the  new  constitution  as  crippling  the 
state  sovereignties,  and  establishing  a  central 
government  with  powers  so  extensive  as  to  en- 
danger the  permanence  of  the  republic.  The 
Federalists,  with  Hamilton  at  their  head,  entered 
upon  an  able  defence  ;  and  at  the  legislative  ses- 
sion of  1788  it  was  resolved  upon  to  call  a  con- 
vention of  delegates  fresh  from  the  people,  for 
the  purpose  of  ratifying  or  rejecting  the  new 
constitution. 

The  election  took  place  at  the  appointed  time, 


1788.]         THE    CONSTITUTION   ADOPTED.  309 

and  on  the  IStli  of  June,  1788,  the  convention 
was  organized  by  the  appointment  of  Governor 
Clinton  as  president.  'After  a  protracted  dis- 
cussion, continued  through  three  weeks,  Mr.  Jay, 
on  the  11th  of  July,  moved  "  that  the  constitu- 
tion be  ratified  ;  and  that  whatever  amendments 
might  be  deemed  expedient  should  be  recom- 
mended." The  Anti-Federalists  strongly  ob- 
jected to  the  passage  of  any  such  resolution ; 
but,  while  the  discussion  was  still  warm,  tidings 
were  received  that  New  Hampshire  had  ratified 
the  constitution ;  and  as  nine  states,  the  number 
necessary  to  its  adoption,  had  thus  already  sig- 
nified their  assent,  the  action  of  New  York  was 
now  a  matter  of  but  little  moment.  After  enter- 
taining, briefly,  the  question  whether  they  should 
ratify  the  instrument  or  recede  from  the  Union, 
they  came  to  the  conclusion  to  accept  Jay's  re- 
solution, altered  in  such  a  manner  as  to  express 
their  "full  confidence"  that  the  amendments  to 
the  constitution,  as  recommended  by  the  conven- 
tion, would  be  adopted  by  the  national  Congress. 
So  warm  a  contest  between  the  Federalists  and 
their  opposers  naturally  engendered  some  bitter- 
ness of  feeling,  which  the  ratification  of  the  con- 
stitution did  not  wholly  allay.  Governor  Clinton, 
the  most  popular  man  in  the  state,  was  decidedly 
averse  to  the  surrender  of  so  much  power  to  the 
general  government,  and  his  adherents  pertina- 
ciously persisted  in  entertaining  x  similar  opinion. 


310  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1792. 

At  the  October  session  of  the  legislature  in  1788, 
Clinton,  in  his  opening  speech,  recommended  the 
assembly  to  favour  a  call  for  a  second  national 
convention,  for  the  express  purpose  of  revising 
the  new  constitution.  But  the  feverish  excite- 
ment gradually  passed  away.  Washington  had 
been  elected  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
so  long  as  he  remained  at  the  head  of  the  gene- 
ral government,  the  people  were  well  satisfied  that 
their  liberties  were  secure. 

By  the  extraordinary  force  of  his  personal  po- 
pularity, Clinton  was  re-elected  governor  in  1788, 
over  Yates,  the  Federal  candidate ;  and  at  the 
election  of  1792,  notwithstanding  the  growing 
strength  of  the  Federal  party,  he  triumphed  in  a 
similar  manner  over  Mr.  Jay,  a  gentleman  greatly 
beloved,  and  of  a  moral  character  singularly  pure. 
The  election  had,  however,  been  very  closely  con- 
tested ;  so  closely,  indeed,  that  Clinton  was  said 
to  have  owed  his  re-election  to  the  legislative 
committee  to  whom  the  votes  for  governor  were 
referred,  the  voice  of  a  majority  of  the  state 
electors  being  in  favour  of  Mr.  Jay.  This  charge, 
publicly  made,  created  a  feeling  of  intense  indig- 
nation throughout  the  state.  Fierce  party  quar- 
rels ensued;  and  as  the  passion  deepened,  the 
consequences  might  have  been  of  the  most  seri- 
ous character,  had  not  the  popular  leaders  on 
both  sides  exerted  themselves  with  praiseworthy 
activity  to  moderate  the  fury  and  vehemence  of 


1795.]  JAY   BURNED   IN   EFFIGY.  311 

their  respective  partisans.  Though  at  length  the 
feud  was  allayed,  it  had  not  been  without  its  ef- 
fect upon  the  fortunes  of  the  Anti-Federal,  or, 
as  they  now  called  themselves,  the  "Republican" 
party.  At  the  subsequent  state  elections  the 
Federalists  were  in  the  majority;  and  in  1795 
they  succeeded  in  electing  Jay  and  Van  Rensse- 
laer, as  governor  and  lieutenant-governor,  over 
Yates  and  Floyd,  the  Republican  candidates. 

Two  days  after  his  election.  Jay  arrived  at 
New  York  from  his  mission  to  England,  where 
he  had  been  sent,  a  year  previous,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  negotiating  a  treaty  with  that  power. 
This  treaty  soon  became  a  most  prolific  source 
of  contention.  France,  plunging  into  the  san- 
guinary excesses  which  followed  her  successful 
revolution,  had  inoculated  quite  a  number  of 
those  who  belonged  to  the  Republican  party  in 
America  with  a  portion  of  her  intensely-levelling 
and  ultra-democratic  principles.  At  the  same 
time,  the  Federalists  were  accused  of  striving  to 
promote  a  strong  conservative  policy,  and  of  a 
still  more  obnoxious  leaning  toward  the  interests 
of  Great  Britain. 

Within  a  week  after  the  arrival  of  Jay  at  New 
York,  the  publication  of  his  treaty  with  Great 
Britain  changed  the  rejoicings  with  which  he  had 
been  welcomed  into  the  bitterest  denunciations. 
In  Philadelphia  he  was  burned  in  effigy ;  and 
throughout  the  confederated  states,  wherever  the 


312  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YOKE.  [1795. 

French  or  Republican  party  was  predominant, 
meetings  were  held  to  protest  against  the  condi- 
tions of  the  treaty,  and  to  vent  fierce  and  unjust 
accusations  against  the  now  unpopular  commis- 
sioners. In  New  York,  Hamilton  attempted  to 
address  the  multitude  in  defence  of  his  friend, 
but  a  shower  of  stones  compelled  him  to  desist. 
The  meeting,  carried  away  by  passion,  assented 
to  some  angry  resolutions,  and  then  burned  the 
obnoxious  treaty  in  front  of  the  governor's  house. 

Fortunately,  violent  passions  are  usually  brief 
in  their  duration.  Jay  quietly  bent  to  the  storm, 
and  when  it  passed  away  gradually  rose  again, 
if  not  to  the  height  of  his  old  popularity,  yet  so 
near  it  as  to  be  again  elected  governor  in  1798, 
over  Judge  Livingston,  the  strongest  Republican 
candidate.  But,  though  defeated,  the  Republi- 
can party  were  everywhere  gaining  strength. 
Encouraged  by  the  number  of  their  American 
adherents,  the  rulers  of  the  French  republic  had 
been  for  some  time  disposed  to  regard  with  a 
feeling  allied  to  contempt  the  repeated  com- 
plaints and  protests  of  the  general  government. 
The  relations  between  the  two  countries  at  length 
became  critical ;  and,  in  expectation  of  a  war. 
Congress  passed  the  well  known  Alien  and  Sedi- 
tion laws. 

By  the  Alien  law,  no  foreigner  could  become  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States  under  a  residence  of 
fourteen  years.     Such  as  had  not  been  in  the 


1798.]        CLINTON   ELECTED   GOVERNOR.  313 

country  more  than  two  years  might  be  ordered  to 
leave  it,  if  the  president  believed  their  presence 
prejudicial  to  the  peace  of  the  commonwealth ; 
while  all  resident  aliens,  after  a  declaration  of 
war,  rendered  themselves  subject  at  any  moment 
to  be  seized  and  incarcerated. 

The  Sedition  law,  though  limited  in  its  opera- 
tion to  three  years,  was  equally  stringent.  Each 
person  unlawfully  combining  or  conspiring  with 
others  to  resist  the  measures  of  the  general  go- 
vernment, or  to  impede  any  law  of  the  United 
States,  or  to  control  the  legitimate  acts  of  any 
government  officer,  was  made  liable  to  a  fine  not 
exceeding  five  thousand  dollars,  and  to  a  term  of 
imprisonment  ranging  from  six  months  to  five 
years. 

Scarcely  any  amount  of  provocation  would 
have  justified  the  rigorous  harshness  of  these 
laws.  The  legislatures  of  Kentucky  and  Vir- 
ginia, at  the  instance  of  Jefferson,  passed  resolu- 
tions denouncing  them  with  great  acrimony.  The 
assembly  of  New  York  avoided  taking  part  in  the 
controversy  ;  but  the  elections  of  1800  and  1801 
were  doubtless  affected  by  it.  The  power  of  the 
Federalists  was  everywhere  completely  broken. 
Jefferson  and  Buit  were  elected  President  and 
Vice-president  of  the  United  States;  while  George 
Clinton  and  Jeremiah  Van  Rensselaer  were  cho- 
sen Governor  and  Lieutenant-governor  of  New 
York. 

27 


314  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1804. 

No  marked  political  events  occurred  during 
the  three  succeeding  years,  although  the  excite- 
ment between  the  opposing  parties  was  in  no 
degree  lessened.  In  1804,  Morgan  Lewis,  the 
Republican  candidate  for  governor,  was  elected 
over  Aaron  Burr,  who,  being  opposed  by  the 
Clintons  and  Livingstons,  was  rapidly  losing  his 
earlier  political  influence.  It  was  at  this  period 
that  the  circumstances  originated  which  led  to 
the  fatal  duel  between  Hamilton  and  Burr. 

Lying  under  the  imputation  of  intriguing 
against  Jefferson  in  order  to  secure  his  own  elec- 
tion to  the  presidency,  Burr  had  lost  in  a  great 
measure  the  confidence  of  his  party.  Failing  to 
procure  the  regular  nomination  for  Governor  of 
New  York,  he  sought  and  obtained  an  independ- 
ent one.  He  lost  his  election,  notwithstanding 
he  was  supported  during  the  canvass  by  a  num- 
ber of  the  Federalists,  much  to  the  chagrin  of 
Hamilton,  although  he  took  no  active  part  to 
prevent  it. 

Smarting  under  his  recent  defeat,  which  he 
attributed  to  the  influence  of  Hamilton,  Burr 
seized  advantage  of  an  expression  in  a  letter 
written  by  Doctor  Cooper  of  Albany,  in  which 
the  latter  assured  his  correspondent  that  Hamil- 
ton considered  Burr  as  "  a  dangerous  man,  who 
ought  not  to  be  intrusted  with  the  reins  of  go- 
vernment;" adding — "  I  could  detail  a  still  more 
despicable  opinion  which  Hamilton  has  expressed 


1807.]  TRIAL   OF   BURR.  315 

of  Burr."  Fastening  on  the  word  "  despicible," 
Burr  immediately  despatched  a  note  to  Hamil- 
ton, which  the  latter  finally  answered  by  declar- 
ing his  willingness,  under  respectful  questioning, 
to  show  that  the  language  he  had  used  was  ap- 
plied solely  to  Burr's  political,  and  not  at  all  to 
his  private  character.  Burr  treated  the  reply 
as  "a  mere  evasion,"  and  reiterated  his  demand 
for  satisfaction.  Reluctantly,  and  in  defiance  of 
his  openly-avowed  principles,  Hamilton  accepted 
the  challenge.  The  parties  met,  and  Hamilton 
fell. 

From  that  moment  the  character  of  Burr  was 
blasted  for  ever.  Hated  in  New  York,  and  in- 
dicted for  murder  in  New  Jersey,  he  proceeded 
to  Philadelphia,  where  he  took  up  his  abode.  In 
the  spring  of  1805  he  started  for  the  West,  enve- 
loping his  movements  in  great  mystery.  Return- 
ing to  Philadelphia,  he  spent  the  winter  of  1805 
and  part  of  the  summer  of  1806  in  that  city  and 
in  Washington  ;  but  in  August  he  again  set  out 
for  the  West.  His  treasonable  designs  eventually 
becoming  apparent,  he  was  arrested  in  the  Tom- 
bigbee  country  on  the  1st  of  March,  1807,  and 
conveyed  to  Richmond  for  trial. 

The  charge  preferred  against  Burr  was  that 
of  treason  against  the  United  States,  and  of  mis- 
demeanour in  levying  troops  within  a  friendly 
territory  for  a  revolutionary  expedition  against 
Mexico.    No  one  doubted  his  guilt ;  but  as  proof 


316  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1807. 

of  an  overt  act,  by  two  creditable  witnesses,  could 
not  be  produced,  he  was  finally  acquitted,  and 
took  passage  the  succeeding  year  for  Europe. 
For  four  years  he  led  a  restless,  wretched,  wan- 
dering life,  but  in  1812  he  suddenly  reappeared 
in  New  York,  and  resumed  the  practice  of  the 
law.  His  death,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one,  took 
place  on  the  14th  of  September,  1836. 

In  1807  Daniel  Tompkins  was  elected  governor, 
over  Morgan  Lewis — both  the  candidates  belong- 
ing to  the  Republican  party.  For  two  years  pre- 
vious to  this,  the  current  of  party  feeling  had  been 
greatly  imbittered  by  the  critical  condition  of  our 
foreign  relations.  During  the  progress  of  the  long 
and  bloody  European  war  carried  on  by  the  allied 
sovereigns  against  the  power  of  Napoleon,  the 
Americans,  as  neutrals,  were  rapidly  acquii-ing 
commercial  importance  by  the  great  extension 
of  the  carrying  trade.  To  annihilate  this  lucra- 
tive business,  Great  Britain  adopted  orders  in 
council  suppressing  all  commercial  relations  be- 
tween America  and  France.  Napoleon  retaliated 
by  issuing  his  celebrated  Berlin  and  Milan  de- 
crees, which  rendered  American  vessels  trading 
to  England  subject  to  seizure  and  condemnation. 

These  high-handed  measures  led  to  protests 
and  remonstrances,  which  were  received  with 
cool  indifference  by  both  the  belligerent  parties. 
Depredations  upon  American  commerce  still 
continuing,   an   embargo   was   laid,   for   ninety 


1811.]  NAVAL    ENGAGEMENT.  317 

days,  upon  all  vessels  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  United  States.  The  militia  and  volunteers 
■were  at  the  same  time  called  upon  to  hold  them- 
selves in  readiness  for  service.  The  great  dis- 
tress brought  upon  the  mercantile  interests  of 
the  country  by  the  operation  of  the  Embargo, 
led  to  its  suspension  until  the  next  meeting  of 
Congress,  in  July,  1808.  In  this  year  Madison 
succeeded  Jeflferson  as  president,  and  an  act  was 
passed  by  Congress  which  prohibited  all  inter- 
course with  England,  France,  or  any  of  their 
dependencies. 

The  Federalists  opposing  a  declaration  of  war, 
which  the  growing  dislike  to  England  seemed 
each  day  to  render  more  inevitable,  the  Republi- 
can party  again  gained  the  ground  they  had 
previously  lost  by  their  support  of  the  Embargo 
Act,  and  succeeded  in  1810  in  re-electing  Tomp- 
kins for  governor.  Lieutenant-Governor  Broome 
dying  soon  after,  De  Witt  Clinton  was  appointed 
his  successor. 

Opinions  directly  antagonistic,  in  relation  ti 
the  right  of  impressment,  had  already  compli- 
cated the  existing  difficulties  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  when,  on  the  16th  of 
May,  1811,  the  frigate  President,  commanded 
by  Commodore  Rodgers,  was  fired  into  by  the 
English  sloop-of-war  Little  Belt.  In  the  action 
which  ensued,  the  British  lost  thirty-two  men  in 
killed  and  wounded.    From  this  time  all  thoue-ht 

27* 


818  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1812. 

of  preserving  peace  was  abandoned ;  the  national 
indignation  was  fully  jjroused,  and  on  the  20th 
of  June,  1812,  Congress  authorized  a  declaration 
of  war. 

The  campaign  opened  disastrously.  An  at- 
tempt to  invade  Canada  proved  not  only  signally 
unsuccessful,  but  was  followed  by  retaliatory 
movements  on  the  part  of  the  British,  Detroit, 
and  all  the  military  posts  in  Michigan,  were  oc- 
cupied by  the  enemy.  Hull  ignominiously  sur- 
rendered the  forces  under  his  command  on  the 
19th  of  x\.ugust;  and  on  the  13th  of  October  an 
American  detachment,  one  thousand  strong, 
which  had  crossed  the  Niagara  River,  and  at- 
tacked the  British  on  the  Heights  of  Queens- 
town,  suffered  a  repulse ;  and  not  being  supported 
by  reinforcements  from  the  American  side,  were 
compelled  to  surrender. 

On  the  ocean,  however,  the  navy  of  the  United 
States  proudly  sustained  the  honour  of  the  Ame- 
rican arms.  Hull,  in  command  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, captured,  on  the  10th  of  August,  the  Bri- 
tish frigate  Guerriere.  Three  days  afterward, 
Porter,  in  the  Essex,  captured  the  Alert.  On 
the  17th  of  October  the  British  brig  Frolic  sur- 
rendered to  the  "Wasp,  though  both  were  retaken 
the  same  day  by  a  British  seventy-four.  On  the 
25th  of  the  same  month  the  frigate  ^Macedonian 
surrendered  to  the  United  States ;  and  on  the 
29th  of  December  the  Java  lowered  her  flag  to 


1813.]  MILITARY   OPERATIONS.  319 

the  Constitution,  on  this  occasion  commanded  by 
Bainbridge. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1813,  Madison  was  re- 
elected president.  The  operations  on  land  still 
continued  to  terminate  in  the  defeat  of  the  Ame- 
rican forces.  During  the  month  of  January  they 
•were  signally  defeated  at  Frenchtown,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  River  Raisin,  and  many  of  those 
who  had  surrendered  were  subsequently  massa- 
cred by  the  Indians.  An  invasion  of  Canada  by 
General  Dearborn  was  more  successful.  On  the 
27th  of  April,  York,  the  capital  of  Upper  Canada, 
was  attacked  by  General  Dearborn,  supported  by 
a  small  naval  squadron  under  Commodore  Chaun- 
cey.  After  a  brief  defence,  the  garrison  capitu- 
lated. This  success  was  speedily  followed  by 
another.  On  the  27th  of  May,  Commodore 
Chauncey  attacked  Fort  George ;  and,  after  set- 
ting fire  to  their  magazines,  the  British  retreated 
to  Queenstown.  Fort  Erie  was  next  abandoned ; 
but  a  detachment  of  Americans,  five  hundred  and 
seventy  in  nujuber,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Boerstler,  fell  into  an  ambuscade,  and  were  com- 
pelled to  surrender  to  the  enemy.  In  the  mean 
while,  the  British  under  Prevost  had  been  re- 
pulsed in  an  attack  upon  Sackett's  Harbour ; 
and  on  the  10th  of  September  suffered  a  still 
severer  disaster  in  the  defeat  and  capture  of 
their  squadron  on  Lake  Erie,  by  Commodore 
Perry. 


320  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1814. 

In  the  intermediate  conflicts  at  sea,  the  re- 
sults had  not  been  always  fortunate.  On  the 
1st  of  June  the  Chesapeake,  commanded  by  the 
heroic  Lawrence,  had  been  taken  by  the  frigate 
Shannon  ;  and  dm'ing  the  following  August  the 
Argus  had  been  captured  by  the  British  armed 
vessel  the  Pelican ;  but  the  following  month 
the  British  brig  Boxer  surrendered  to  the  En- 
terprise. 

The  tide  of  battle  now  began  to  turn  with  a 
steady  persistence  in  favour  of  the  Americans. 
General  Harrison  gained  a  decisive  victory  over 
Proctor  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames  ;  and  during 
the  summer  of  1814  General  Jackson  defeated 
the  Creeks  in  several  pitched  battles.  On  the 
3d  of  July  General  Brown  crossed  into  Canada, 
and  captured  Fort  Erie.  On  the  next  day  he 
successfully  repulsed  the  British  at  Chippewa ; 
and  on  the  25th  of  October  the  Americans  fought 
at  Bridgewater  the  bloodiest  battle  of  the  war. 
The  loss  on  both  sides  was  equally  severe,  but 
the  Americans  remained  masters  of  the  field. 

Dm-ing  the  month  of  August,  a  British  squad- 
ron sailed  up  the  Potomac  River,  and  disembarked 
six  thousand  men  under  Sir  James  Ross.  Dis- 
persing the  militia  assembled  at  Bladensburg  to 
obstruct  his  progress,  Ross  proceeded  to  Wash- 
ington, where  he  burned  the  Capitol.  After 
committing  various  other  excesses,  which  betray- 
ed more  of  the  spirit  of  the  Goth  than  of  the 


1815.]     BATTLE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS.       321 

chivalric  generosity  of  the  modern  soldier,  he 
retired  to  his  ships. 

On  the  12th  of  September  the  fleet  reappeared 
in  the  Chesapeake,  and  made  prepo.rations  to  at- 
tack Baltimore ;  hut  General  Eoss  being  killed 
in  a  skirmish  at  North  Point,  the  detachment 
was  recalled,  and  the  project  abandoned. 

On  the  northern  frontier,  one  day  previous  to 
the  above  repulse,  Sir  George  Prevost,  with  a 
force  of  fourteen  thousand  men,  made  a  vigorous 
assault  upon  the  American  works  at  Plattsburg. 
The  defence  was  conducted  by  General  Macomb 
with  so  much  resolution,  that  the  British  finally 
retired  with  a  loss  of  twenty-five  hundred  men. 
Simultaneously  with  the  attack  upon  Plattsburg, 
an  engagement  took  place  on  Lake  Champlain 
between  the  British  and  American  fleets.  After 
a'h  action  continued  for  more  than  two  hours, 
the  fire  of  the  enemy  was  silenced.  One  frigate, 
one  brig,  and  two  sloops-of-war  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Americans,  who  from  that  time 
until  the  close  of  the  war  held  undisputed  com- 
mand of  the  lake. 

Hostilities  between  the  two  nations  were 
finally  terminated  by  the  disastrous  defeat  of 
General  Pakenham  before  New  Orleans,  on  the 
8th  of  January,  1815.  The  forces  of  the  Bri- 
tish commander  amounted  to  fifteen  thousand 
men,  while  those  of  General  Jackson  did  not 
number  more  than  six  thousand.      These,  how- 


322  HISTORY   OP  NEW  YORK.  [1815. 

ever,  were  judiciously  covered  by  a  breastwork 
of  cotton  bags,  and  otherwise  strongly  protected 
by  the  natural  difficulties  presented  by  the 
ground  on  each  flank.  In  an  attempt  to  storm 
these  works,  Sir  Edward  Pakenham  fell  mor- 
tally wounded.  His  troops,  after  three  despe- 
rate efforts  on  the  centre  and  each  flank  of  the 
American  line,  fell  back  in  disorder,  with  the 
loss  of  three  thousand  men. 

Two  weeks  previous  to  this  battle  a  treaty  of 
peace  had  been  signed  at  Ghent,  and  on  the 
17th  of  February  it  was  ratified  by  the  president 
and  senate. 


1811.]  CLINTON'S   ASPIRATIONS.  328 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Political  aspirations  of  De  Witt  Clinton — The  Tammany  So- 
ciety— Its  origin — Opposed  to  Clinton — Tompkins  elected 
governor — Chosen  vice-president — Clinton  governor — Con- 
struction of  the  Erie  Canal  authorized — Decline  of  the  old 
Federal  party — Origin  of  the  "  Bucktails" — Clinton  re-elected 
governor — Van  Buren  chosen  United  States  Senator — Revi- 
sion of  the  state  constitution — Principal  amendments  adopted 
— Yates  elected  governor — Division  of  the  Democratic  party 
— Organization  of  the  "  People's  party" — Removal  of  Clinton 
as  canal  commissioner — ^Re-elected  governor — Subversion  of 
the  old  political  parties — Abduction  of  Morgan — Masons  and 
Anti-Masons — New  organizations — Formation  of  the  Whig 
and  Jackson  parties — Death  of  Governor  Clinton — Van  Buren 
elected  governor — Rise  and  decline  of  the  "  Workingman's 
party" — Throop  elected  governor — Marcy  chosen — "  Equal 
rights"  party  organized — How  designated  by  the  Whigs — 
Merged  with  the  Democratic  party — Marcy  re-elected  go- 
vernor— Financial  embarrassments — Increasing  strength  of 
the  Whigs — Seward  elected  governor — Party  fluctuations — 
Bouck  elected  governor — Election  of  Wright — Anti-Rent 
disturbances- — Their  origin — Progress  of  the  disaffection — 
Tumults  in  Delaware  county — Murder  of  the  sheriff — Mili- 
tary called  out — Arrest  and  imprisonment  of  the  rioters — • 
Breach  in  the  Democratic  party — "Hunkers"  and  "Baxn- 
burners" — Revision  of  the  constitution — Young  elected  go- 
vernor— Election  of  Fish — Conclusion. 

Before  war  was  declared,  many  of  Madison's 
friends  regarded  his  cautious  policy  in  relation 
to  the  dispute  with  Great  Britain  as  indicating  a 
feebleness  of  purpose  unworthy  of  his  high  posi- 
tion. Prominent  among  these  was  De  Witt 
Clinton,  who  himself  aspired  to  become  a  candi- 


324  HISTORY   OF   XEW   TORE.  [1816. 

date  for  the  next  presidency.  His  party,  how- 
ever, Avere  not  disposed  to  countenance  his  am- 
bitious views.  Various  combinations  were  formed 
against  him ;  and,  among  others,  he  was  opposed 
by  the  whole  strength  of  the  Tammany  Society, 
a  powerful  association  which  was  organized  soon 
after  the  peace  of  1783,  in  opposition  to  the 
Cincinnati  Society.  At  first  it  was  composed  of 
prominent  members  of  both  political  parties ;  but 
it  gradually  took  a  more  distinctive  character, 
and  in  1812,  by  a  vigorous  support  of  Madison 
against  Clinton,  materially  contributed  to  the 
defeat  of  the  latter.  The  members  of  the  asso- 
ciation were,  at  this  period,  known  as  "  Mart- 
ling's  men,"  from  holding  their  meetings  in 
Martling's  long  room,  since  known  as  Tammany 
Hall. 

At  the  gubernatorial  canvass  of  1813,  Governor 
Tompkins  was  re-elected.  De  Witt  Clinton,  who 
sought  the  nomination  for  lieutenant-governor, 
was  again  defeated  by  the  opposition  of  the 
Tammany  Society.  In  1816  Tompkins  and  Tay- 
lor were  again  elected  governor  and  lieutenant- 
governor  ;  but  the  former  having  been  chosen 
Vice-president  of  the  United  States  early  in  the 
following  year,  the  choice  of  the  Democratic 
party,  to  fill  the  vacancy  thus  occasioned,  fell  at 
length  upon  De  Witt  Clinton.  A  most  import- 
ant measure,  as  bearing  upon  the  future  pros- 
perity of  the  state,  was  passed  at  the  session  of 


1820.]  CLINTON   RE-ELECTED.  325 

1817.  This  was  no  other  than  the  passage  of 
an  act  authorizing  the  construction  of  the  Erie 
and  Champlain  canals.  To  carry  out  this  noble 
project  a  large  loan  was  called  for,  the  interest 
of  which  was  provided  for  by  certain  specific 
taxes,  and  by  appropriating  to  this  partircular 
use  the  rents  of  the  valuable  salt-springs  at 
Onondaga. 

From  this  period,  the  power  of  the  old  Fede- 
ral party  was  broken.  The  Republicans  also 
underwent  a  change  in  their  organization.  From 
an  order  of  the  Tammany  Society,  who  wore  in 
their  hats  the  tail  of  a  deer,  arose  the  Bucktail 
party.  The  most  prominent  leader  of  this  new 
party  was  Martin  Van  Buren,  then  rapidly  ris- 
ing into  notice  as  a  sagacious  politician.  The 
differences  between  the  Bucktails  and  Clinton- 
ians  arose  partly  from  the  opposition  of  the  for- 
mer to  the  proposed  schemes  of  internal  im- 
provement, and  partly  from  a  personal  dislike  to 
Clinton,  whom  they  represented  as  haughty  and 
impracticable. 

The  elections  of  1820  saw  Clinton  and  Tomp- 
kins, both  prominent  Republicans,  opposed  to 
each  other ;  but  although  many  of  the  old  Fede- 
ralists supported  the  latter,  Clinton,  personally 
popular  through  his  advocacy  of  internal  im- 
provements, and  further  strengthened  by  the 
reiteration  of  certain  charges  improperly  brought 
against  Tompkins,  was  re-elected.  It  was  never- 
28 


826  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1824. 

theless  evident  tliat  the  Bucktail  party  were 
rapidly  gaining  streugtli.  Its  leader,  Martin 
Van  Buren,  was  the  following  year  elected  to 
the  senate  of  the  United  States.  At  the  legis- 
lative  session  of  the  same  year,  the  question  of 
revising  the  state  constitution  was  ordered  to  be 
laid  before  the  people.  A  majority  of  over  se- 
venty-four thousand  voters  being  found  in  favour 
of  a  revision,  the  convention  assembled  at  Albany 
on  the  28th  of  August,  1821.  Ex-Governor  Tomp- 
kins was  chosen  president.  The  principal  amend- 
ments adopted  by  the  convention  were, — the  abo- 
lition of  the  old  council  of  revision ;  turning  over 
the  veto  power  to  the  governor;  the  reduction  of 
the  governor's  official  term  to  two  years ;  the  ex- 
tension of  the  franchise ;  the  remodelling  of  the 
judiciary ;  the  election  of  sheriffs  and  county 
clerks  by  the  people  ;  together  with  many  other 
changes  of  less  moment.  In  1822  the  new  con- 
stitution of  the  state  was  ratified  by  a  large  ma- 
jority. In  November  of  the  same  year,  Judge 
Yates  was  elected  governor,  De  Witt  Clinton 
declining  to  become  a  candidate. 

The  rapid  numerical  increase  and  conflicting 
preferences  of  the  Bucktail,  or,  as  it  now  called 
itself,  the  Democratic,  party,  in  the  winter  of 
1823,  threatened  its  own  destruction.  For  the 
presidential  nomination  of  1824,  Mr.  Crawford 
was  warmly  sustained  by  the  "Albany  Regency," 
while  many  others  of  the  Democratic  party  formed 


1825.]  ERIE   CANAL   COMPLETED.  32T 

a  junction  with  the  friends  of  General  Jackson, 
or  with  those  who  supported  the  respective  claims 
of  Adams,  Calhoun,  or  Clay.  The  custom  of 
making  presidential  nominations  in  a  congres- 
sional caucus  was  by  this  means  broken  down ; 
while,  to  weaken  the  influence  of  Mr.  Van  Buren 
and  the  Albany  Regency  upon  the  legislature,  by 
whom  the  presidential  electors  were  then  chosen, 
a  new  faction  was  organized,  which,  calling  itself 
"the  People's  party,"  advocated  the  right  of  the 
people  to  choose  the  presidential  electors  by  a 
direct  vote.  To  this  new  party  Clinton  and  his 
friends  immediately  gave  in  their  adhesion. 

At  the  legislative  session  of  1822  a  bill  was 
reported  by  the  house,  making  the  presidential 
electors  elective  by  the  people ;  but  it  was  thrown 
out  by  the  senate.  The  defeat  of  this  popular 
measure,  being  attributed  to  the  influence  of  the 
Albany  Regency,  produced  a  storm  of  indigna- 
tion throughout  the  state ;  which  was  increased 
by  the  removal  of  Clinton  from  the  oflice  of  ca- 
nal commissioner,  the  duties  of  Avhich  he  had 
faithfully  performed  without  remuneration  for  a 
number  of  years.  This  proscription  tended  to 
elevate  Clinton  in' the  popular  regard.  At  the 
election *in  November,  1824,  he  was  chosen  go- 
vernor by  a  majority  of  sixteen  thousand,  over 
Young,  the  orthodox  Democratic  candidate. 
The  following  year  Clinton  had  the  satisfaction 
of  witnessing  the  completion  of  the  Erie  CanaL 


328  HISTOKY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1826. 

In  1826  he  was  again  elected  governor,  though 
by  a  greatly  diminished  majority. 

It  was  a  few  weeks  previous  to  this  canvass 
that  the  United  States  were  thrown  into  a  con- 
dition of  excitement  so  fierce  and  vehement,  as 
led  soon  after  to  the  entire  subversion  of  the  old 
political  parties.  This  intense  fervour  arose 
from  the  abduction  and  supposed  murder  of  Wil- 
liam Morgan,  a  member  of  the  Masonic  frater- 
nity, by  certain  unknown  persons,  believed  to 
belong  to  the  same  association.  The  evidence 
submitted  at  the  subsequent  trials  showed  that 
Morgan,  a  native  of  Virginia,  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  the  town  of  Batavia  in  the  summer  of 
1823.  Ranking  high  in  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
his  knowledge  enabled  him  to  prepare  a  book 
purporting  to  be  an  exposition  of  the  secrets  of 
that  order.  After  several  attempts  had  been 
unsuccessfully  made  to  divert  him  from  this  his 
avowed  design,  a  small  party  of  Masons  con- 
spired together  to  remove  him ;  and  partly  by 
force,  and  partly  by  the  connivance  of  certain 
civil  officers,  themselves  Masons,  they  succeeded 
in  seizing  Morgan  and  carrying  him  to  old  Fort 
Niagara,  from  whence,  after  a  confinement  of 
three  days  in  the  magazine,  he  disappeared  sud- 
denly. The  fate  of  Morgan  was  never  positively 
known ;  but  although  this  mysterious  abduction, 
with  its  dark  result,  was  the  work  of  a  few  reck- 
less Masons  only,  its  criminality  attached  itself 


1828.]  VAN  BUREN  CHOSEN  GOVEENOK.     329 

to  the  whole  fraternity.  At  the  local  elections 
of  1827  the  question  of  "Mason  or  Anti-Mason" 
sprang  up,  and  in  a  little  while  the  Anti-Masonic 
party  swayed  the  political  complexion  not  of  New 
York  alone,  but  of  the  whole  confederacy. 

The  old  parties  being  thus  broken  up,  new  or- 
ganizations were  attempted.  Portions  of  the 
Federalists,  Bucktails,  and  Clintonians  coalesced 
for  the  purpose  of  advocating  the  nomination  of 
General  Jackson  for  the  presidency.  Other  frag- 
ments of  the  same  parties  supported  the  preten- 
sions of  Adams  and  Clay.  New  titles  were 
respectively  assumed,  and  from  this  period  arose 
the  Jackson,  or  National  Republican,  and  the 
Whig  parties. 

On  the  11th  of  January,  Governor  De  Witt 
Clinton  expired  suddenly,  while  sitting  in  his 
library.  The  customary  testimonials  of  public 
respect  were  paid  to  his  memory — a  weak  and 
very  inadequate  expression  of  gratitude  to  one 
whose  able  and  earnest  advocacy  led  to  the  adop- 
tion of  those  grand  measures  of  internal  improve- 
ment which  have  since  added  so  greatly  to  the 
wealth  and  importance  of  New  York. 

The  election  for  governor  in  1828  terminated 
in  favour  of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  Early  the  follow- 
ing year,  being  selected  to  occupy  a  seat  in  the 
national  cabinet,  the  duties  of  the  office  thus 
left  vacant  devolved  upon  Lieutenant-Governor 
Throop. 

28* 


330  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1836. 

One  other  political  party  was  organized  during 
the  year  1830,  -which  fulfilled  its  purpose,  and 
then  was  dissolved  as  suddenly  as  it  arose  into 
notice.  This  was  called  the  "  Workingman's 
party,"  under  whose  auspices  Throop  was  re- 
elected governor.  In  1832  William  L.  Marcy, 
the  Democratic  candidate,  was  chosen  governor, 
and  again  elected  to  the  same  office  in  1834. 

In  the  course  of  the  ensuing  summer,  the 
"Equal  Rights  party"  was  organized.  It  con- 
sisted of  a  detachment  from  the  Democratic 
party,  professedly  opposed  "to  all  monopolies, 
to  bank-notes,  and  to  paper  currency  as  a  circu- 
lating medium."  By  the  Whigs  it  was  soon 
designated  as  the  Locofoco  party,  a  title  which 
was  subsequently  conferred  upon  the  whole  De- 
mocratic party  when,  in  1837,  that  wing  of  the 
latter  which  had  proclaimed  Equal  Rights  as  a 
rallying  cry  reunited  with  those  from  whom,  two 
years  before,  they  had  seceded. 

In  1836  Governor  Marcy  was  again  continued 
in  office,  by  the  large  majority  of  thirty  thousand 
votes  over  Mr.  Bull,  the  Whig  candidate. 

Dm-ing  this  year  occm^'ed  those  fearful  finan- 
cial embarrassments  which  resulted  in  the  ruin 
of  so  many  mercantile  men,  and  in  an  utter 
stagnation  of  all  kinds  of  business.  This  ter- 
rible  crisis  was  charged,  by  the  Whigs,  to  have 
grown  out  of  the  opposition  of  General  Jackson 
to  a  recharter  of  the  United  States  Bank ;  to  his 


1844.]      PARTY  FLUCTUATIONS.         331 

removal  of  the  treasury  deposites ;  and  to  his 
specie  circular  of  1836,  by  which  all  moneys  due 
the  government  were  to  be  paid  in  gold  and  silver. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  cause  of  the  dis- 
tressed condition  of  the  country,  as  it  occurred 
during  a  Democratic  administration,  it  led  many 
persons  to  join  the  ranks  of  the  Whigs.  In  New 
York,  the  latter  party,  after  maintaining  for 
many  years  an  unsuccessful  contest,  at  length 
succeeded  in  electing  their  candidates.  The 
Democrats  throughout  the  state  were  everywhere 
defeated,  William  H.  Seward  being  elected  go- 
vernor, over  Marcy,  by  some  ten  thousand  ma- 
jority. 

Still  gathering  strength,  the  Whig  party  ac- 
chieved  a  greater  triumph  in  1840,  by  the  elec- 
tion of  General  Harrison  to  the  presidential 
chair,  and  in  New  York  by  the  re-election  of 
Governor  Seward. 

The  death  of  Harrison  in  the  early  part  of 
1841,  by  placing  Vice-President  Tyler  in  the 
executive  chair,  proved  seriously  injurious  to  the 
Whig  cause.  In  New  York,  the  Democratic 
party,  at  the  election  of  1842,  reassumed  its  old 
ascendency,  Bouck  and  Dickinson  being  elected 
governor  and  lieutenant-governor,  over  Bradish 
and  Furman,  the  Whig  candidates.  In  the  elec- 
tion of  Wright  and  Gardiner  to  the  same  offices 
in  1844,  the  Democratic  party  still  evinced  an 
undiminished  strength. 


832  HISTORY   OF   NEW  YORK.  [1844- 

Shortly  after  this  election,  the  peace  of  the 
state  became  seriously  disturbed,  in  several  of 
the  counties,  by  popular  tumults  of  an  alarming 
character.  These  tumults  had  their  rise  in  the 
resistance  offered  by  certain  tenants  of  lease- 
hold estates  to  the  civil  officers  empowered  to  en- 
force the  payments  of  rents.  The  cause  of  this 
serious  outbreak  had  its  origin  in  the  early  colo- 
nial times.  It  has  been  recorded  in  what  way, 
during  the  Dutch  supremacy,  the  manors  known 
as  Pavonia,  Swanandael,  and  Rensselaerwyck 
were  acquired.  Similar  grants  were  subse- 
quently obtained  from  the  British  crown.  Some 
of  these  large  proprietors  partitioned  off  their 
lands  and  sold  them,  either  to  speculators  or  to 
actual  settlers.  Others  established  manors,  and 
claimed  the  customary  manorial  rights  and  privi- 
leges. As  lords  of  the  soil,  they  granted  per- 
petual leases  of  their  lands,  in  preference  to  sell- 
ing them  in  fee,  reserving  certain  annual  rents, 
payable  partly  in  produce,  and  partly  in  labour. 
The  right  to  restrain  was  generally  made  a  part 
of  the  contract,  and  the  patroon  or  landlord  re- 
tained by  express  stipulation  the  ownership  of 
all  water-powers  and  mines.  For  a  long  time 
these  regulations  were  submitted  to  by  the  te- 
nants. At  length,  however,  they  began  to  grow 
restive  under  the  restrictions  by  which  they  were 
encumbered.  Some  few  acts  of  violence  occurred 
in  the  years  1812  and  1813,  which  resulted  in 


f 

1844.]  ANTI-RENT   DISTURBANCES.  333 

the  death  of  the  sheriff  of  Columbia  county ;  but 
the  agitation  partially  subsided,  and  with  the  ex- 
ception of  occasional  petitions  to  the  legislature, 
asking  for  a  change  in  the  tenure  of  the  lands, 
no  absolutely  violent  disruption  took  place  until 
1839.  In  this  year,  an  attempt  to  collect  the 
arrearages  of  rents  due  to  the  estate  of  Stephen 
Van  Rensselaer,  resulted  in  a  combination  of  the 
tenants  to  resist  the  execution  of  process  by  the 
sheriff.  The  organization  becoming  of  a  mena- 
cing character.  Governor  Seward  called  out  the 
military,  and  the  tenants,  ceasing  to  resist,  con- 
sented to  have  their  complaints  adjudicated  by 
the  legislature.  Nothing,  however,  was  done  by 
the  members  of  that  body,  either  on  behalf  of 
the  tenants  or  to  enforce  the  existing  laws.  Thus 
matters  remained,  with  but  little  variation,  until 
the  winter  of  1844 ;  various  bands  of  Anti-Rent- 
ers, disguised  as  Indians,  having,  during  the  in- 
termediate period,  successfully  impeded  the  exe- 
cution of  the  laws,  though  without  resorting  to 
actual  violence.  The  contest  now  began  to  as- 
sume a  political  complexion.  Certain  newspapers 
defended  the  course  of  the  Anti-Renters,  and 
candidates  were  nominated  for  public  offices  be- 
cause of  their  known  sympathy  for  the  insurgents. 
In  December,  several  serious  outrages  being  com- 
mitted by  the  "Indians,"  the  legislature  took 
cognisance  of  them  so  far  as  to  pass  an  act  to 
prevent  persons  fi'Qm  appearing  armed  or  in  dis- 


334  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1846. 

guise ;  and  authorized  the  governor  to  call  out 
the  military  at  any  time  he  might  think  proper. 

For  a  short  time  the  excitement  smouldered ; 
but  in  the  summer  of  1845  nearly  the  whole 
county  of  Delaware  was  in  a  state  of  riot  and  in- 
subordination. On  the  7th  of  August  the  sheriff 
of  that  county,  while  in  the  execution  of  his  duty, 
was  murdered  by  a  party  of  Anti-Renters.  Go- 
vernor Wright  at  once  declared  the  county  in  a 
state  of  insurrection,  and  despatched  thither  a 
military  force  to  overawe  the  rioters.  Many  of 
the  latter  being  arrested,  and  sentenced,  upon 
subsequent  trial,  to  various  terms  of  imprison- 
ment, order  was  restored  throughout  the  Anti- 
Rent  region.  A  law  passed  by  the  legislature 
at  the  session  of  1846,  abolishing  distress  for 
rent,  and  taxing  the  incomes  of  the  landlords, 
removed  to  a  considerable  degree  all  subsequent 
cause  of  complaint. 

In  the  mean  time,  a  serious  breach  had  occur- 
red between  various  influential  members  of  the 
Democratic  party,  which,  finally  widening,  led  to 
separate  organizations.  The  two  factions  thus 
created  were  soon  after  known  as  the  "  Hunkers" 
and  "Barnburners." 

A  state  convention  to  amend  the  constitution, 
having  already  received  the  assent  of  the  peo- 
ple, met  at  Albany  on  the  1st  of  June,  1846. 
Under  the  provisions  of  the  new  constitution, 
nearly  all  the  officers  previously  appointed  by 


1848.]  CONCLUSION.  335 

the  governor  ^^'ere  made  elective  by  tlie  people  ; 
feudal  tenures,  and  all  the  restraints  previously 
existing  on  the  alienation  of  lands,  were  abolished. 
No  lease  having  more  than  twelve  years  to  run, 
in  which  rent  or  service  were  reserved,  was  de- 
clared to  be  valid.  Important  changes  were 
made  in  the  judiciary  system,  and  the  elective 
franchise  was  extended  to  all  free  white  male 
citizens ;  the  old  clause  with  respect  to  the  co- 
loured population  being  retained. 

In  the  gubernatorial  canvass  of  1846,  Young, 
the  Whig  candidate  for  governor,  was  elected 
over  Wright  by  about  eleven  thousand  majority. 
During  the  two  following  years,  the  Whigs  re- 
peatedly succeeded  in  their  judicial  and  other 
elections,  owing,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  want 
of  unity  among  the  various  members  of  the  De- 
mocratic party.  A  similar  success  attended  the 
former  at  the  elections  of  1848,  when  Fish,  the 
Whig  candidate,  Avas  elected  governor  by  a  large 
majority  over  Walworth,  the  Democratic  nominee. 

With  the  year  1848  closes,  for  the  present, 
this  history  of  the  great  state  of  New  York. 
Possessing  an  admirable  geographical  position 
for  commercial  purposes ;  with  a  vast  system  of 
internal  improvements,  immensely  valuable  to 
the  state,  and  equally  conducive  to  the  prosper- 
ity of  its  citizens ;  with  a  population  increasing 
so  rapidly  as  almost  to  defy  calculation ;  and 
with  public  schools  nobly  provided  for  and  judi- 


336  HISTORY   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1848. 

ciously  fostered,  a  "wonderful  future  is  before  her, 
■which,  if  accompanied  by  the  exercise  of  those 
virtues  that  always  attend  upon  true  greatness, 
will  command  the  admiration  of  other  peoples, 
even  more  profoundly  than  the  mystery  of  her 
present  progress  elicits  their  wonder. 


THE    END. 


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